Cambodia has been known for a long time as an agricultural country and about 90% of the country is supported by agriculture, and it has gradually turned to tourism. Slowly relying on the natural scenic spots, culture, ancient temples, and especially many cultural heritages that the country has always owned, it is like the well-known tourist holy places such as Angkor Wat. Therefore, tourism has become one of the indispensable economic pillars of Cambodia. And is also claimed to be a smoke-free industry. With the development of the industry, people’s life has gradually improved, realizing the tourism economy and people’s livelihood.
The epidemic situation in the past two years has caused great fluctuations in the tourism industry and caused great economic blows to practitioners in the industry. The impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on Cambodia’s tourism industry is still ongoing. Last year, Cambodia received 196,000 international tourists, down 85% year-on-year; tourism revenue was US$184 million, down 82% year-on-year. According to the Ministry of Tourism, tourism contributed 1.8% of GDP last year, compared to 12.5% in 2019.
The Minister of Tourism held a video conference with the Governor of Siem Reap Province and relevant departments on the 24th to discuss making Siem Reap Province a safe tourism destination in Cambodia. During the meeting, the Minister of Tourism spoke highly of the Siem Reap provincial government’s effective prevention and control of the epidemic, which has enabled local tourism and economic activities to become active, and Thai Smile Airways will resume direct flights to Siem Reap on March 3, which is a positive sign of the recovery of the tourism industry. However, the mutant strain of Omicron is ravaging Cambodia and countries around the world, and restarting tourism in Siem Reap province needs to be more cautious.
In order to revive the tourism industry, the meeting also discussed the restoration of visas on arrival. The Minister of Tourism agreed with the importance of restoring visas on arrival at ports such as aviation. And agreed to submit an application to the National Anti-epidemic Committee and the government to resume the visa on arrival as soon as possible.
Next, the National Anti-epidemic Committee will discuss some technical issues, and the specific recovery time has not yet been determined. However, everyone still hopes that with the anti-epidemic efforts of the government, relevant departments, and the people, the epidemic will be alleviated and effectively prevented and controlled, and the tourism industry and Cambodia’s economy will resume growth again.
