Cambodian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Sok Dareth has proposed launching air routes from Can Tho city in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta to Cambodia in order to meet rising travel demand.
In the first nine months of this year, over 280,000 Vietnamese visitors came to Cambodia, tripling the figure of the same period last year.
"This made Vietnam the second largest source of tourists to Cambodia," the diplomat told a conference on Vietnam-Cambodia trade and investment cooperation held in the city on Friday.
Hailing Can Tho and the Mekong Delta region for great tourism potential, he said Can Tho was the first foreign city selected by the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism to host a roadshow promoting the country as a safe, warm, green and clean tourist destination after the Covid-19 pandemic.
To prepare for an expected increase in foreign tourists, Cambodia is building the new Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.
“In order to effectively use the new airports and promote the two countries' tourism, I propose Can Tho soon study to open air links from its international airport to the two Cambodian ones to serve tourists," said Sok Dareth.
In the first 11 months of 2022, Can Tho exported more than $37 million of goods, mainly agro-fishery products, medicine, and steel, to Cambodia; and spent nearly $0.6 million on importing Cambodian products, mostly medicinal materials. One enterprise from Can Tho is operating in Cambodia, while there is yet to be any from Cambodia investing in the city.
Two-way trade between Cambodia and Vietnam increased significantly from $5.3 billion in 2020 to more than $9 billion in 2021. The figure is expected to exceed $10 billion this year. Vietnam ranks fourth among countries investing in Cambodia, focusing on agriculture, telecommunications, and banking.