Cambodia hopes to boost tourism with direct flights

The Taipei Times
DPA, PHNOM PENH
Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008

Cambodia will seek to increase direct flights from China and EU nations to boost its booming tourism industry, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said yesterday.

His comments came as Cambodia announced a 17 percent increase in tourist arrivals at about 400,000 during the first two months of this year. Tourism is a mainstay of the economy.

“Cambodia needs more flights from the big cities in southern China and they need to be daily,” he said by telephone. “The EU is also a market that is under tapped due to a lack of direct flights.”

“By 2020 an estimated 100 million Chinese are expected to travel the world. If we can snare just 5 percent, we’ve got 5 million Chinese tourists,” he said.

Siem Reap International Airport, 300km north of the capital and the gateway to the Angkor Wat temple complex, currently accommodates 37 international flights per day, he said.

But the French-Malaysian concession company Societe Concessionnaire de l’Aeroport — which manages the Siem Riep airport — has announced expansion plans, and the government is keen to capitalize.

Phnom Penh International Airport handles about 30 international flights a day, and the Sihanoukville airport, which is 240km from the capital and services the southwestern beach resorts, is also being set for major expansion.

“The EU is also a place with great tourism potential. At present we have direct charter flights from Finland and Italy, but we would like to see that grow as 60 percent of our tourists arrive by air,” he said. “To attract more tourists, we have to put Cambodia on the map.”