Number of Cambodians traveling overseas drops by 78%

14 August 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The ministry of Tourism indicated that there is a 78% drop in the number of Cambodians traveling overseas for the first six months of 2009, when compared to the same period last year. Kong Sophearak, director of the statistics and information department of the ministry of Tourism, told The Phnom Penh Post on Thursday that during the first six months of 2009, there are 146,056 less Cambodians traveling overseas, in comparison, there were 668,555 Cambodians traveling abroad during the same period in 2008. Kong Sophearak indicated that this drop could be attributed to the influence of the economic crisis and the political upheavals in neighboring countries, as well as the creation of a large number of tourist zones in Cambodia. Ang Kim Ieng, president of the Cambodian Travel Agency Association, indicated that the sharp drop of the number of Cambodians traveling overseas started when Thailand, the leading visiting place for Cambodians, faced political problems and also because of the swine flu spread. He said that, last year, Cambodians used to travel to Thailand, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, but, currently, they are staying in Cambodia because of the swine flu fear.