Cambodia: Lockdown malaise drives people seeking respite to coastal provinces

• May 24, 2021

As the capital lifts alcohol and travel restrictions, lockdown malaise has led to an increase in tourism to coastal provinces, according to business owners.

Sanssouci hotel in Kep province has 20 villas for rent. Its owner, Ven Viola, told Khmer Times that 19 of them were occupied – with nine being booked on Friday evening.

“A lot of people didn’t want to spend the lockdown in big cities so we have about 10 long-stay guests right now, but nine people booked on Friday evening and it was a little unexpected,” she said.

Compared with the previous weekend, Volin said, Sanssouci had seen an increase in bookings of about 70 percent.

Sanssouci’s uptick is indicative of renewed interest in people visiting the coastal provinces, in part because of their close proximity to the capital and the high number of people looking to escape the lockdown atmosphere.

Bolin Chan, a professional working in the financial industry, said that he found himself booking a trip to Kampot province this past weekend because he “needed to wash the lockdown off”.

“I just had enough of the barricades, closed business and having nothing to do. My kids have been restless since schools closed down and my wife has really had her hands full during this whole time,” Chan said.

“We needed to get out of Phnom Penh. The barricades, people going out of business and just general ‘COVID life’ was too much for us and we needed a break,” he added.

It has been well reported that Cambodia’s tourism sector has been badly affected since the outbreak last year.

The industry has turned towards catering to local clientele to help make up for the loss in foreign visitors.  As a result, coastal provinces such as Kep and Kampot have winning the battle for tourism dollars and riels.

Valinda Srey, the owner of a rest stop on National Road 3 en route to Kampot, has been operating throughout the restrictions. She said that this weekend was the first period of profitability she has had since late March.

“Very difficult. There used to be lots of buses full of tourists stopping to eat and rest here but there has been no traffic lately. Also, I’m only doing takeaway because I am still scared of the virus. I haven’t decided when we will allow dine-in, I’ll just wait to see how other people react,” Srey said.

While foreign travellers opt to visit Siem Reap, most locals have had their fill of seeing Angkor Wat and instead prefer experiential travel, Khmer Times previously reported.

“Some people could not travel and lost potential customers who wanted to visit Kep during the travel ban. However, some people stayed because they didn’t really have anywhere else to go,” said Volin.

“Siem Reap is more a destination for international tourists, not so much for local people. Also, locals like going to places where other people are as well – they like meeting people and having constant company. Siem Reap lost its appeal to the local market because it is too quiet and the roads are always under construction,” she added.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50861141/lockdown-malaise-drives-people-seeking-respite-to-coastal-provinces/