Residents made nearly one million domestic trips from February 1-3 during the Lunar New Year holidays, indicating an increase of 6.15 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2021. The capital was the most popular destination, accounting for about 30 per cent of this year’s total, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

The ministry noted that Cambodians and foreign residents respectively accounted for 931,308 and 16,189 trips to Phnom Penh (258,069), and the provinces of Battambang (193,567) Kampot (66,534) and Siem Reap (58,953).

Broken down by day, 333,709 trips were recorded on February 1, 353,216 on February 2, and 307,421 on February 3.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon stressed that although the Lunar New Year is not an official holiday, domestic tourism saw a marked spike during the period.

Ratanakkiri provincial Department of Tourism director Nget Pitou said the northeastern province logged 13,559 domestic trips, signalling a notable uptrend in travel to the mountainous locality since the government started winding back Covid restrictions. The rebound also reflects the success of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, as well as government efforts to improve infrastructure and ensure peace and security.