Preah Sihanouk province has received around 1,500 international arrivals since the beginning of this month after the international tourism relaunch scheme kicked off, significantly easing the rules for fully-vaccinated travellers, according to the deputy provincial governor.

Long Dimanche told The Post on December 27 that the province has welcomed international air arrivals from China, Indonesia and other countries, all of which travelled on non-scheduled chartered flights.

He said passengers comprised “tourists and investors, including Chinese, Singaporeans, Indonesians, Vietnamese, Americans and Europeans”.

State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha told The Post that flights to the province were still very scarce.

Although noting that the capital has seen a more significant hike in flights, he stressed that air traffic to Preah Sihanouk had recently taken another hit after China tightened travel restrictions.

He pointed out that 80-90 per cent of flights to the Kingdom that originate from China land in the province.

Last month, the province saw just 20 international chartered flights and more than 20 domestic flights carrying a total of over 300 passengers, he said.

He underlined that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has sparked fresh concerns around the world, prompting Thailand to tighten its quarantine rules, which he said reduced the number of flights from Bangkok to Phnom Penh by about 20 per cent.

On the other hand, there has been no major reduction in flights from Singapore, despite the city-state imposing similar restrictions, he noted.