Cambodia promotes domestic tourism

An eco tourism spot popular with domestic tourists in Cambodia (Source: Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism)

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Tourist destinations across Cambodia welcomed nearly 400,000 visitors during the first three weeks of May, said the country’s Minister of Tourism Thong Khon.

Of the figure, there were 390,922 domestic tourists and 7,177 foreigners.

With increasing domestic tourist movements, the Ministry of Tourism has been working closely with the private sector to implement epidemic preventive measures for tourism safety following the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

However, domestic tourism alone will not be enough to keep hotels from losses and closures.

Hoteliers need foreign holidaymakers, said a manager of a large hotel in Cambodia, adding that they are aware the tourists cannot yet arrive in droves because of prohibitive but necessary measures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

He suggested that the Cambodian government should look at measures to enable foreign tourist arrivals, encourage more flights from countries which have flight connections to Cambodia and a resumption of flights within ASEAN, maybe even tourist visa waivers and other measures.

On May 20, the country lifted a ban on entry of visitors from Iran, Italy, Germany, Spain, France and the US that had been put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

However, foreign visitors would still need to have a certificate no more than 72 hours old confirming that they are not infected with the virus and proof of 50,000 USD worth of health insurance while in Cambodia.

They also would be quarantined for 14 days after arrival and tested for COVID-19./.