The Kingdom’s national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, is seen at the Phnom Penh International Airport. CAA
Tourism and trade relations between Cambodia and India are expected to show more positive signs in the near future, as the Kingdom’s national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, announces plans to launch direct flights to the latter’s capital New Dehli.
“Let’s go experience our new destination! Our new route to New Delhi, India will commence operation soon,” said a social media post from the airline.
Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Cambodia chapter, told The Post on March 7 that the airline’s plan to launch direct flights to India will bring huge benefits to tourism and trade between the two countries.
He said, however, that the success of the direct flight operation also depends on the pricing.
“This is the good news that we have been waiting for many years. I have said numerous times that the Indian market is very important because India is a great nation, in terms of its number of travellers around the world. After China, India is the largest and has both longstanding culture and tradition,” he said.
According to Sinan, the Indian tourism market is divided into three categories: cultural and historical; shopping and nightlife (mostly to Thailand); and religion.
He said Indian visitors like travelling to Phnom Penh and ancient temples in Siem Reap and Battambang provinces.
According to worldometers.info, a global metrics website, India is currently the world’s most populous country with 1.438 billion people as of March 7, leading China in second place with a population of 1.425 billion.
Khieu Thy, president of the Khmer Angkor Tourist Guide Association (KATGA), said the tourism situation in Cambodia has gradually started to improve after more than three years of sharp decline due to the onset of Covid-19 and geopolitical conflicts and wars, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He noted that recently, the number of tourists from India, South Korea and eastern Europe, including Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, has significantly increased.
“Launching direct flights will allow more Indians to visit Cambodia’s ancient temples, as most of them have a history related to India’s Hindu religion,” he said.
Sinn Chanserey Vutha, undersecretary of state at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), said the exact date has not yet been confirmed.
He noted that the number of flights in Cambodia has steadily increased, with those at its three international airports nearing 170 per day, as of the end of February.
At the same time, Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, will recommence flights from Dubai – the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – to Phnom Penh via Singapore on May 1, according to a recent press release from the airline.
“The resumption of our Phnom Penh services demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our Southeast Asian network, as we continue to create more opportunities for travellers to explore diverse and culturally rich destinations, and help businesses and exporters of all sizes establish stronger trade connections,” Adnan Kazim, deputy president and chief commercial officer of Emirates, was quoted as saying in the release.
It added that the service will be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, and that the airline’s SkyCargo network plans to provide over 300 tonnes of cargo capacity weekly to and from Phnom Penh, utilising the Boeing’s cargo space to facilitate trade with the Cambodian capital city and various other destinations.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, 5.45 million foreign tourists entered Cambodia in 2023, an increase of 139.5% compared to 2022, of which 68,836 were Indian, up by 102.4%.
Indian visitors ranked 14th after Thailand, Vietnam, China, Laos, the US, South Korea, Indonesia, France, the UK, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and Russia.
In 2023, trade between the two countries stood at $485.7 million, up by 10.4% from 2022. Of that, Cambodia exported $293.06 million worth of goods to India, expanding by 49%, and imported goods from India worth $192.64 million, down by 20.8%.
India is currently Cambodia’s 17th-largest trading partner, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).
In 2019, the Kingdom welcomed its highest number of international tourists with a total of 6.61 million, an increase of 6.6% compared to 2018, of which 75,286 were Indian, an increase of 14.3%, as per the ministry.
