Chinese Arrivals Down 90% In January-April

Phnom Penh: According to reports in Chinese media, during the recent lockdown of Phnom Penh for COVID prevention, there were still 2,149 Chinese citizens entering the country in April- 85% lower than in March.

The Cambodia-China Times stated that the latest report from the Ministry of Tourism, revealed that from January to April this year, there were 25,986 Chinese citizens who entered Cambodia, of which 25,749 entered the country with business visas.

The report added that there were 4,770 Chinese citizens entering the country in January, 4,789 in February, 14,278 in March, and 2,149 in April.

The report said, that compared with the 262,000 person-times in the first four months of last year, the number of Chinese citizens visiting Cambodia this year has dropped by 90%.

Since the implementation of entry controls for the prevention and control of the Cambodian COVID outbreak since April 2020, there has been a sharp decline in the number of foreigners entering the country. The tourism industry has suffered an unprecedented shock, and the situation is described as “worse” this year.

The report pointed out that in the first four months of this year, Cambodia received 82,839 international visitors, a year-on-year decrease of 92.9%.

In the first four months of this year, the number of people arriving by air exceeded 38,000, a year-on-year decrease of 94%. Among them, 31,000 people came from Phnom Penh Airport (down 91.5%), and Siem Reap Airport was 6,975 people (down 88%).

In the first four months of this year, Siem Reap Province received 4,528 foreign visitors, a year-on-year decrease of 98.8%; Sihanoukville received 37,000, a year-on-year decrease of 79%; Phnom Penh received 71,000, a year-on-year decrease of 90.8%.

The epidemic has severely damaged Cambodia’s tourism industry. In 2020, Cambodia received 1.3 million foreign visitors, which is an 80% decrease from the 6.61 million in 2019.

The Ministry of Tourism estimates that international visitors brought Cambodia US$1.023 billion in foreign exchange income last year, a 79% decrease year-on-year.

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