(Phnom Penh) Foreign tourists can once again visit the temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia, after the government’s decision to reopen the kingdom on Monday to travelers who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Angkor site, virtually deserted since the start of the pandemic, welcomed some two million tourists in 2019.
As a result of the pandemic, tourism revenues have jumped from $ 5 billion in 2019, when the country attracted 6.6 million visitors, to just $ 1 billion in 2020.
Prime Minister Hun Sen made an unexpected announcement on Sunday evening that all fully vaccinated international travelers, tourists and businessmen will be able to freely visit all of Cambodia without quarantine from Monday.
This decision cancels the initial reopening plan, which provided that only a few beaches in the south of the country would reopen at the end of November, and the rest of the country, including the city of Siem Reap, the gateway to the World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. , in January.
Travelers will also be required to present two negative COVID-19 tests, one performed at least 72 hours before travel and the other upon arrival in Cambodia.
“When they arrive and we see that they have received two doses of the vaccine, we will do rapid tests. If the results show they are negative for COVID-19, they will be allowed to travel to Cambodia, ”Hun Sen said in an audio message posted on his Facebook page.
“I order the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism and relevant sectors to implement these measures from November 15, 2021,” he said, adding that this measure was a quick way to reopen the country.
Hor Sophea, tourist guide at Angkor Wat, welcomed the decision. “This is a positive measure for the survival of our tourism,” she told AFP.
Cambodia largely avoided a mass epidemic throughout 2020, but cases have risen from 20,000 to 120,000 since April, and the country has more than 2,800 deaths.
The country’s vaccination campaign is a success: 96% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.