The tourism business in Cambodia is furious as Vietnam and Thailand partially open their doors to tourists — while the Kingdom remains closed.

[ASEAN NOW]

 

Despite having better in control of the epidemic, Cambodia's hospitality industry is up in arms when Vietnam and Thailand partially opened for tourists under strict conditions, but the Kingdom remains resolutely closed to such trials.

 

This comes as word leaked that Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island will be open to "completely vaccinated" travelers beginning in November for a six-month trial period in order to enhance tourism.

 

Vaccinated visitors to Thailand will be able to visit five provinces beginning October 1: Bangkok, Chiangmai, Chonburi, Phetchaburi, and Prachuap Khiri Khan. This follows the hugely successful “Sandbox” model piloted in Phuket, which generated around $50 million in revenue and saw 27,609 tourists from July 1 to September 3.

 

“Cambodia is already 80 percent vaccinated with two doses,” claimed Richards, a former hotelier on Koh Rong. When will you be able to open the borders if not now? How can Phu Quoc open when only around 12% of Vietnam's population has been vaccinated, presuming they have received two doses?”

 

The rules for entering Vietnam, according to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, are simple: visitors must have received their second dose of a recognized vaccine at least 14 days prior to travel to the paradise island, and no more than 12 months prior, as well as a negative PCR test result within 72 hours of departing.

 

The Thailand Sandbox model stipulates that fully vaccinated tourists are permitted to visit specific destinations as long as they adhere to strict guidelines such as staying within a specific area for a set period of time (seven to 14 days) and undergoing Covid-19 tests at various intervals before being allowed to travel freely.

 

According to a research by the Ministry of Tourism, tourism in Cambodia has declined considerably from $5.31 billion in revenue and 6.6 million tourists in 2019 to a meager 700,000 visitors in the first quarter of this year. Many hotels and guesthouses closed or staff wages were slashed as a result of this, putting further strain on business owners, notably in the hospitality industry.

 

The announcement comes as the Epizode festival prepares to welcome thousands of ravers, revellers, and world-famous disc jockeys to Phu Quoc for 11 days of nonstop dancing and drinking to commemorate the festival's fifth anniversary. This will undoubtedly give the business sector renewed hope in order to boost tourism in all ASEAN countries, but when or if Cambodia will follow suit?

 

Before launching, Vietnam's tourism ministry stated that all people on Phu Quoc would be completely vaccinated, and that the island had no community illnesses and appropriate COVID-19 quarantine and treatment facilities.

 

Thailand has already reopened to foreign tourists in parts, particularly on the resort island of Phuket, where roughly 70% of the population was required to get vaccinated.

 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh admitted this month that Vietnam will have to fight Coronavirus for a long time, adding that lockdowns and quarantine would not be enough. Coronavirus has infected over 570,000 individuals and killed 14,400 others.

 

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry announced last Thursday that eateries in Ho Chi Minh City, the epicenter of the new outbreak, were allowed to serve takeout meals and shippers were allowed to operate more extensively in a modest relaxation of a strict lockdown.

 

“I think Cambodia should very seriously explore opening up as soon as possible,” Andrew Varga, an observer of the Siem Reap hospitality sector, told Khmer Times yesterday. “Apparently 80 percent of the population is vaccinated and so protected from major illness.”

 

“I believe that the actual number of infections is largely immaterial. The only thing that matters is the trend in serious cases and deaths, which is obviously due to the Cambodian government's success in vaccination such a large part of the population. All of the support and effort put forth by everyone involved will be for naught if they don't open up now.”

 

“Despite having one of the highest vaccination rates in the ASEAN region, the government has yet to open the borders to allow the tourism business to recover,” a hotel owner in Phnom Penh who did not want to be identified said. When I say I'm disappointed, I'm confident I'm not speaking for myself. Especially in Vietnam, where the vaccination rate is so low.”

 

The Ministry of Tourism did not respond to a request for comment.

[GrandPapillon]

castle in the sky, very few international tourists from Europe or the US will come over and take the risk of getting a new local variant, and face a lockdown on their way back

 

airlines are also still in the "reduced" route model,

 

October too soon for mass tourism, maybe March 2022 or August 2022