Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia’s tourism,which is the most vulnerable industry from the spread of coronavirus, will seea slower recovery than other sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic ends,according to Chhay Sivlin, President of the Cambodia Association of TravelAgents.

She told Khmer Times that tourism activity will not return to normal soonbecause it is a global crisis and it’s related to  people’s feelings.People will need time to save money they lost during the crisis”.

It will take at least half to one year for people to start taking holidayswhile long-haul tourism could take longer, she said.

However, she said Cambodia must be ready to welcome more foreign visitors afterthe situation returns to normal.

“We need to prepare in advance an attractive package with good promotions, goodprices and diversify our eco-tourism destinations,” she said, adding that forCambodia the tourism sector will still have room to grow.

COVID-19 has affected a total of 630,000 people in the tourism sector and some30,000 of them are now unemployed, of whom 10,000 were tour operators, 10,000worked at hotels, about 6,000 were tour guides and others worked inrestaurants, according to Chhay.

Data from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism shows that Cambodia welcomed over6.6 million foreign visitors last year, a 6.61 percent increase from 2018.Chinese tourists topped the list, with 2.36 million, up 16.7 percent, followedby Vietnamese with 908,803, up 13.6 percent.

In the first two months of this year, the country hosted 931,826foreign visitors, a decline of 50 percent compared to the same period last year.
The ministry’s spokesman Top Sopheak said the ministry stillpromotes the tourism sector both locally and abroad although it cannot hold anyspecial events or expos because of the need for self-distancing.

Hong Vannak, a business researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that inaddition to the garment sector, tourism has the most potential to boost growthafter COVID-19./.