Cambodia proposes Moscow flights

PHNOM PENH Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said he is backing a proposal to establish scheduled direct flights between Russia and Cambodia.

Phnom Penh Post reported that the first direct flight might land at the coastal town of Sihanoukville, rather than the capital Phnom Penh.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon was quoted saying Cambodia has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for direct flights in 2015, and last week’s talks should speed up implementation.

“In meetings [last week], the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev pushed for a direct flight from Russia to Sihanoukville,” claiming the seaside destination would be the most popular option.

Participants at the meeting also worked on a travel visa sub-decree that would allow Russians to enter for one to three years, he added.

While the visit lacked concrete results, the tourism minister hopes a deal will be finalised soon, especially as Russian tourist arrivals fell by 17.6% during the first quarter of this year from 24,066 to 10,615 visits.

Similar declines were registered across all Southeast Asian destinations due to an economic decline in Russia.

There have been no direct air link between the two countries since Russia’s national airline, Aeroflot, stopped flights between Moscow and Phnom Penh in the early 1990s. Currently, travellers must fly via neighbouring countries such as Vietnam or Thailand.

Last month, Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has asked the government to grant Russian visitors’ visa-free entry.

Cambodia grants visa exemption to Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, member-nations of ASEAN and is cooperating with Thailand to offer a two-country visa applied for at embassy of the first point of entry.

Nationals of other countries can obtain a visa-on-arrival for tourism (USD30) or for a business visit (USD35), for a maximum stay of 30 days.

Last year, Cambodia attracted 55,500 Russian tourists to the country down 48.9% from 108,601 visits in 2014.

The main gateway, Thailand, also suffered substantial losses in Russian arrivals in 2015, but it still remains a top five market.