IF China were to phase out its zero-Covid-19 policy and chart a new path towards economic recovery, Cambodian tourism may experience a spike in growth that exceeds all expectations, as the two countries push for more reciprocal direct flights as the pandemic lets up, according to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The premier was speaking on Thursday at the closing ceremony of a key conference on work and plans for post-Covid-19 tourism.
Hun Sen reflected on the repercussions of Beijing’s zero-Covid-19 policy in China, Cambodia and elsewhere, as the restrictive measures put a damper on travel and freight movement to, from and within the officially most populous country in the world.
He underscored the heavy reliance on China as a tourism source market, which he pointed out was not limited to Asia and Europe.
However, the premier cautioned, the prospects of China withdrawing its Covid-19 policy remained uncertain for now.
He suggested that Cambodia regularly monitor the situation and encourage internal travel to offset the slump in Chinese visitors.
With holidaymakers now making an average of about 300,000 domestic trips a week, the uptick in internal tourism has considerably helped resuscitate some parts of industry and encouraged Cambodians to seize “the opportunity to get to know their territory, rather than going abroad”, Hun Sen said.
He was most likely referencing the “Srolanh Cheat, Trov Skoal Teuk-dei” domestic tourism campaign, which loosely translates as “to love the nation is to know its territory”.
But to support a domestic tourism boom as well as development of associated resources, adequate infrastructure must be in place to ensure the accessibility of new tourist destinations, and provide clean water, electricity and mobile network services, the prime minister underlined. — The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
