Golden opportunity to position country as complete destination, not as extension to Vietnam or Laos, says ALL DREAMS’ boss
WITH Phnom Penh on track to be the most vaccinated capacity city in the ASEAN region – it is projected that the city will be entirely vaccinated by July – moves are afoot within Cambodia’s tourism industry to work towards a possible reopening of borders for international travellers by the fourth quarter of this year.
According to this report in Phnom Penh Times, as of June 9, 2.3 million people had received both doses under the country’s Blossom strategy, its mass vaccination campaign aimed at achieving 80% of the targeted 10 million people in the city. Based on this latest figure, 27.7% of the targeted population have been immunised. Official projections are for 70% or more of the total population (16.5m) of Cambodia to be vaccinated by October or November.
Speaking at last evening’s GEVME Virtual Experience Makers Series (June 15), executive director of Phare, The Cambodia Circus, Dara Huot said, “We have been fortunate in Cambodia to have access to vaccines and next, we think, will be Siem Reap for hospitality/tourism workers.”
He added, “The Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia is working towards getting the buy-in from the Ministry of Health and prime minister to open up the border on Phase 1 for vaccinated tourists with approved itineraries and approved vendors/providers from Q4. Phase 2 will be opened up to independent travellers.”
Earlier this month, armed with a new slogan, “Cambodia a small country with a big heart”, the Ministry of Tourism announced a new campaign to attract foreign visitors by highlighting the visits of 35 world-famous celebrities to Angkor Wat, including Michelle Obama in 2015.
The Ministry spokesman Top Sopheak said: “The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll in the tourism sector and there is a need to revive it. We need to aggressively promote our incredible tourist destinations which have the richest traditions and cultural heritage.”
He added, “Cambodia plans to receive foreign tourists in the fourth quarter of 2021. This is what the Ministry of Tourism is trying to do and has discussed with the private sector. Now we are discussing it with other relevant institutions and ministries,” he was quoted.
It is understood that the government is looking towards the Phuket Sandbox model and examining whether it could open up Siem Reap first before other provinces, but obviously the private sector hopes that other provinces will also open up at the same time.
Jacques Guichandut, managing director of leading tour operator ALL DREAMS CAMBODIA, does not believe Siem Reap alone will be enough of an incentive for travellers – especially those from longhaul markets – to stay for a week or longer. “Siem Reap is not Phuket or Bali,” he said.
Speaking at a webinar organised by Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA) recently, he said that this was Cambodia’s golden opportunity to brand and sell Cambodia as a stand-alone destination. He told WiT, “The recovery of tourism will be point to point travel only at the beginning. Cross border, multi destination itineraries, will be a nightmare at the start.
“It’s Cambodia’s chance to really sell ourselves as a complete destination, and not just as an extension of Vietnam or Laos tour. This will help to distribute the tourism revenues to other parts of Cambodia beyond Siem Reap – to places such as Phnom Penh, Battambang, Sihanoukville, coastal towns, islands, highlands, and other attractive provinces of Cambodia that have the infrastructure and safety SOPs in place to welcome tourists.”
Jacques, a long-time resident of Cambodia who’s built a business out of international inbound business over decades, said, “Cambodia has a good story to tell. It’s managed Covid well, relatively, and its vaccination programme is impressive and ambitious. Imagine we could be the first country in ASEAN to fully open borders for quarantine-free vaccinated travellers.”
A chance to sell ‘slow tourism’
The fact is that initial recovery will come from countries further afield, such as Europe and the US. Most of its Asian markets, including China, remain closed in the sense that governments are not encouraging residents to travel abroad, by requiring them to spend 14 or 21-day quarantine on their return.
Said Jacques, “This is a golden opportunity to position Cambodia differently in those markets where we have travellers looking to travel to one destination and experiencing ‘slow tourism’.”
He said he’s seen increased demand for ‘slow tourism’ from his clients. “People want to experience staying in one destination for longer periods of time and there is big demand for private villas.”
ALL DREAMS CAMBODIA has survived the pandemic by pivoting its business to domestic tourism and corporate team-building programmes. It’s kept all 38 staff, albeit on 50% reduction in salary. Jacques said the challenge was “keeping them busy and motivated” especially towards the second half of last year when it looked like the pandemic would be dragging on for a prolonged period.
It sold holidays for the well-heeled local traveller – five star and above – and he was amazed by what he learnt about the market. “Who they are and how they like to travel – they are mostly family, they travel in groups and across generations and this is a good business if we can offer them interesting experiences for families to stay and travel together. Maybe one day, I will say, thank you, Covid.”
Its corporate team-building programmes have also taken off well and he sees the potential to offer these activities for overseas corporates when borders open.
Meanwhile, Phare, The Cambodia Circus is applying to be among the listed attractions on the approved itineraries. Pre-Covid, its Siem Reap performance was playing to more than 800 guests a day, which went to zero when inbound tourism disappeared. Their story of survival was shared by Huot and Osman Khawaja, executive director at Phare Ponleu Selpak, at the GEVME event last evening.
Digital vaccine passport from Cellcard
The private sector is further bolstering reopening efforts. In a LinkedIn post, Cellcard’s Ian Watson announced the launch of a digital vaccine passport that will sit “within the Cellcard Pouk Mak App (think WhatsApp but with lots more functionality)”.
He said, “As far as I know, we’re the first mobile network operator in the world to launch a digital vaccine passport. Not bad for little old Cambodia.”
Like many destinations heavily reliant on inbound tourism, “Little old Cambodia” has been impacted badly by the pandemic. In 2019, the tourism sector represented 18.7% of gross domestic product and nearly US$5 billion in tourist receipts, making it the second largest revenue contributor in Cambodia after the real estate and construction sector.
In this June 8 report, Clais Chenda, president of Cambodia Hotel Association, said that some hotel owners have confirmed that they would be resuming operations shortly and international flights are expected to commence from mid-June. In total, more than 3,000 tourism-related businesses in Cambodia have been closed, leaving more than 45,400 people unemployed, according to the MOT.
Inbound tourism has flatlined – the first quarter of 2021 clocked 70,901 international arrivals, down 94% year-on-year, with more than half of current arrivals trickling in mostly by land and waterways and the rest by air. The highest number of arrivals in the first quarter was Thai nationals at 35,294 people, followed by 23,837 Chinese citizens and 3,562 Vietnamese.
Airlines such as Jetstar, Korean Air, China Eastern, Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Shenzen Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air continue to operate.
In the meantime, infrastructural work is undergoing to prepare the country for the rebound when it happens. Siem Reap is undergoing major road improvements, which doesn’t make it very pleasant for domestic tourists currently, said Huot, but will make for a better visitor experience when they return.
Construction of the new Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, located 51km southeast of downtown Siem Reap and 40km from Angkor Archaeological Park, is scheduled to be completed by 2023. The new Phnom Penh International Airport should be operational by March 2023 as well and there are plans for a highway between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap the same year.
The question is whether businesses can hold on if borders do not open by year end. Back in April, after the third wave of transmissions forced further restrictions, CHA president, Chenda, who owns two boutique hotels and an elephant sanctuary in northeastern province Ratanakkiri, said, “Our business is on the verge of a collapse. All our savings are gone and we have borrowed from banks, our friends and families. Now, we don’t know what to do.
“We are suffering yet another blow with the curfew and inter-province travel ban. Many hotels that somehow survived till now will be forced into bankruptcy.”