The travel industry is eagerly awaiting a recovery in tourism after all quarantine and PCR testing requirements were lifted.latest news
The travel industry applauds the removal of all quarantine and PCR testing requirements for full arrivals and eagerly awaits a recovery in tourism.
Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed the exemption from all quarantine requirements in two separate audio messages sent to the nation on November 14, saying that anyone who has received a second Covid-19 shot of any kind can now be anywhere in the Kingdom travel.
However, Hun Sen pointed out that the 14-day rule remains in effect for those who have not been fully vaccinated.
He said people arriving by any means of transport would have to undergo a rapid Covid-19 antigen test instead of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid test.
Chhay Sivlin, president of the Association of Cambodian Travel Agents, called the news “the most positive news” for the tourism industry.
She told the Post on November 15, “This announcement will help our tourism industry recover as quickly as possible, and we hope to encourage more flight connections.
“However, with the country reopening while air transport remains restricted – travelers will not know how to enter Cambodia.”
She suggested adding more flight connections to limit Cambodia’s tourism reliance on reopening plans by neighboring countries and other Asean countries, which she said could delay tourists from regions such as Europe that would otherwise be keen to visit Cambodia.
Huot Kheang, executive director of All Dream Cambodia Travel Co Ltd, told The Post that he had long been ready to reopen to international tourists, saying his company was focusing on guests from Europe.
“The problem we’ve been worried about is that we’re only reopening three areas with very limited flights. However, the government has released special information about the opening of three modes of transportation, water, land and air, which has given us great relief,” he said. .
Sin Chansereyvutha, spokesman for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), told the Post that the three international airports in Saudi Arabia are fully prepared and are working with stakeholders, especially the Ministry of Health, to arrange gate security measures.
He noted that many airlines had yet to confirm the resumption of flights “as the Covid-19 situation has been changing rapidly, thus affecting air transport”, and expected more clarity on estimates by next month.
The Ministry of Tourism issued an announcement on Nov. 15 asking local and foreign tourists to follow government guidelines when entering and leaving Cambodia.
The National Bank of Cambodia reported that Cambodia received 108,000 international tourists in the first half of 2021, a drop of 90.8% from 1.18 million in the same period in 2020.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting the kingdom plunged 87.8% to 275,671 between January and June, the central bank said.
