Since yesterday, Cambodia has allowed nationals and foreigners who have completed COVID-19 vaccination to enter the country without isolation. This sudden news has inspired the local tourism industry.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen suddenly announced the above decision in an audio address book on Sunday night. He said that since 88% of the population in China has been vaccinated, the government decided to further relax the immigration control.

All the nationals and foreigners entering the country through the three international airports, namely Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Siem Reap, can enter the country only if the virus test is negative within 72 hours before departure, and can move freely only if the test is negative again after entering the country.

Immunized persons must be quarantined for 14 days when entering the country.

As for the unvaccinated people, they still have to accept 14 days of isolation observation after entering the country.

Tourism is one of the four major economic pillars in Cambodia, and it is the area most severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. In 2019, before the outbreak, the number of foreign tourists entering Cambodia reached 6.6 million, with economic benefits of nearly 5 billion US dollars. After the outbreak last year, the tourism industry stopped, and Cambodia's tourism revenue in 2020 dropped sharply to US$ 1 billion.

The plan announced earlier by the authorities is to gradually open to the outside world. First, Sihanoukville, Gaolong Island, and the Seven Star Sea, a holiday facility developed by China, will be opened from November 30th, and next January, Siem Reap, where the world cultural heritage Angkor Wat complex is located, will be opened. These plans are now advanced with the latest announcement.

Cambodia is stepping up the implementation of the new normal strategy, and it is necessary to gradually reopen various economic fields during the epidemic to accelerate the recovery. After the authorities approved the full resumption of school classes on November 1st, they successively allowed the cinemas and fitness centers, and other indoor places to be reopened. The authorities also plan to allow entertainment venues and nightclubs to resume business from December 1st.

The COVID-19 epidemic in Cambodia was not serious at first, but it broke out in April this year, and now the situation is flat. Yesterday, there were 52 newly confirmed cases in the local area, with a total of nearly 120,000 cases. There were five new deaths, with a total of nearly 2,900 deaths.

‌‌​​‌‌‌‌