Monday, November 7, 2022
Hun Sen, the Cambodian Prime Minister said that high vaccination rates and the reopening of borders led to the revival of Cambodia’s tourism industry.
Speaking at a tourism-related event in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said that vaccines have built herd immunity in Cambodia, which has made the country reopen its borders confidently since late 2021.
The PM said that the acceptance of the vaccination rule, along with the execution of the Roadmap for Cambodia Tourism Promotion and Recovery Plan, Cambodia is witnessing a rising number of international tourists.
In the first nine months of this year, Cambodia welcomed 1.24 million international visitors, going up 861 per cent compared to the equivalent period last year.
During January-September this year, neighboring Thailand topped the list of international tourist arrivals to Cambodia, followed by Vietnam, China, the US and Indonesia, as per official data.
Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said that the Southeast Asian nation is hoping to lure 1.5 million to 2 million international tourists this year. The number is forecast to reach the pre-pandemic level in 2026 or 2027.
Before the pandemic, Cambodia recorded 6.6 million international tourists in 2019, earning $4.92 billion in revenue. Cambodia met with significant success in controlling the pandemic.
The kingdom has reported no new deaths from Covid-19 since April, with 91.1 per cent of its 16 million population fully vaccinated with two required vaccine doses.
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