The Ministry of Tourism announced that vaccinated tourists will be welcomed in Preah Sihanouk province – including Koh Rong – and the Dara Sakor area of Koh Kong province beginning November 30.
According to a notice signed on October 26 by tourism minister Thong Khon, Siem Reap will be the second destination to accept vaccinated tourists beginning in January 2022.
All vaccinated tourists will be able to visit these locations for five days without having to stay in quarantine.
Preventive health procedures and measures
“Upon arrival at international airports, all visitors participating in the vaccinated tourism program are only required to undergo antigen rapid testing for Covid-19.” If the results are negative, they will be able to travel freely in areas designated as safe tourist destinations, where all resorts and attractions will enforce [preventive health procedures and measures], according to Khon.
Visitors traveling to Cambodia under the vaccinated tourism program can apply for a tourist or T-class visa at any Cambodian embassy or consulate abroad, or they can apply for an e-visa online.
The requirements
All tourists must arrive as part of a “vaccinated visitor” tourism package or as part of a family or other small group of people who are all fully vaccinated and “high class,” according to the notice, without going into further detail on the latter requirement.
- All visitors must have official vaccination certificates, cards, or other related documents, as well as pre-booked and pre-paid accommodations at a certified hotel within the designated safe tourism zones.
- Visitors must also have health insurance that covers all Covid-19 medical treatments while in Cambodia, as well as travel insurance that covers compensation in the event of an emergency cancellation of their trip to Cambodia.
- They must also book their return flight and be able to produce their ticket or booking documents if asked.
If they are not traveling directly from their home country or country of residence, they must provide their travel history for the previous 14 days prior to arrival.
Finally, they must bring a certificate stating that they tested negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of the flight’s departure.
“All foreign visitors must take a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test in Cambodia within one day of departing for any of the safe tourism destinations – and also one day before leaving Cambodia – to confirm their negative status before being permitted further travel,” the minister said.
More about this jabbed tourist scheme.
Prime Minister Hun Sen stated at a Cabinet plenary meeting last Friday that Cambodia may enter into a reciprocal agreement with Thailand to eliminate quarantine requirements for inbound visitors from that country.
If Thailand wants to implement this policy, Cambodia will as well, on the basis of reciprocity, so that when we visit Thailand, we will not be required to quarantine, and when Thais visit Cambodia, they will not be required to quarantine.
“So, once we have the principle established and a single visa can cover both countries,” he said, “we could start flying tourists over from Thailand to visit Cambodia.”
Hun Sen stated again that when the Thai economy reopens, if Thailand determines that Cambodians do not need to be quarantined upon arrival, Cambodia will fully reciprocate.
“If Khmer go to Thailand without having to quarantine, then under the principle of reciprocity, we will not require any Thais coming to Cambodia to quarantine,” he said.
When contacted for comment, Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine stated that she did not have any additional information on the subject.
The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh told The Post via email that the embassy had only learned about this from news reports and was waiting for an official communication from the Cambodian government before discussing the possibility of reciprocation.
When asked for more information, an embassy official stated only that beginning November 1, all fully vaccinated travelers inbound from 46 countries and territories, including Cambodia, will be allowed to fly into Thailand with only a negative PCR test result upon arrival and no further quarantine required.
“A similar relaxation of measures on the Cambodian side would greatly benefit people residing in both countries and allow a full range of economic activities to resume,” the embassy representative said.
