More than 1.28 million international tourists visited the Kingdom between January and November 2020, based on arrivals numbers released by the Ministry of Tourism.

This represented a drop of 78.2 percent year-to-date (YTD) in international tourists compared with the same period in 2019 when 5.89 million tourist arrivals were recorded.

The COVID-19 pandemic was cited as the driving factor in the decline.

China, Thailand and Vietnam were the largest sources of foreign travellers to Cambodia during the January to November period in 2020. The ministry reported that international arrivals included 322,459 Chinese – a decline of 85 percent YTD, 201,038 Thai, down 49 percent and 181,835 Vietnamese, a drop of 77 percent.

Last week, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon chaired a meeting with a working group to find strategies to address the challenges of restoring the tourism sector during and after the COVID-19 crisis period.

The meeting announced a decision to adjust the composition and tasks of the sub-working group in promoting and monitoring the implementation of tourism safety measures as its first stage. The meeting has set out a roadmap for rehabilitation and promotion of the sector.

The ministry will issue a prakas (directive) on the implementation of guidelines for organising events at tourist destinations throughout Cambodia and an update on preparation work on a travel bubble with China, Japan and South Korea.

Late last year, the government extended its financial support programmes to aid the garment and textile industry, tourism sectors and poor people for another three months from January to March 2021.

This is the seventh round of support from the government to the private and public sectors in response to the pandemic.

The government decided to continue providing $40 per month to workers in the tourism sector, such as hotel, guesthouse, restaurant and travel agency employees for an additional three months. Enterprises and businesses owners in the tourism sector must contribute on a voluntary and practical basis in addition.

• Tags: tourists