The Ministry of Tourism on January 12 proclaimed Cambodia as one of the safest countries to visit in light of the Kingdom having been ranked number one in the world by the Senegalese Economic Prospective Bureau for its success in handling the Covid-19 pandemic.
In rankings of 166 countries published on December 20 of last year, Cambodia received a perfect score of 1.0, slightly edging South Sudan and Brunei which each scored 0.99.
Following the containment of an outbreak in November, Cambodia was ranked 3rd in the world – behind the Caribbean state Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles – and 1st in the Asia-Pacific.
A press release by the ministry declared: “Because of the strict control and management by the Royal Government in combating Covid-19, Cambodia is one of the safest countries to visit amid the pandemic.
“This ranking is another point of national pride, and this is a great opportunity for promoting ‘Cambodia – Kingdom of Wonder, Feel the Warmth’ on both local and international stages.”
The ministry requested support and cooperation from the public, media outlets, tour operators and development partners to disseminate the good news and promote the nation’s tourism industry.
Clais Chenda, president of the Cambodia Hotel Association (CHA), applauded Cambodia’s top ranking, saying it could help attract more international tourists to visit the country.
“We have a very good ranking, but progress will also depend on other countries. If they can jointly control the spread of Covid-19, tourism will rebound,” she said.
Chenda led a meeting on January 13 with more than 100 CHA members to address problems facing the sector and find ways to attract tourists to visit Cambodia.
“The hotel sector depends totally on tourists to survive. During the past year of the pandemic, some hotels have been hit hard and almost closed down while others reduced their operations according to business realities.”
