Local tourism increases around Khmer New Year, the most popular time of the year for Cambodians to move around the country, a trend that is likely to increase this year, a top official said.
“We expect that Cambodian people moved much more compared to last year,” Tourism Minister Thong Khon told VOA Khmer. The increase was “due to good living conditions of Cambodian people and to good infrastructure.”
The exact number of local tourists moving throughout the country is unknown, but officials estimate at least 5 million local tourists travel across the country during the country’s three main festivals: New Year, the Water Festival, and Pchum Ben.
Most of the travel comes at New Year, and this year has seen more, officials said.
“Of course they move a lot, because they get money from selling land and because we have a good infrastructure,” said Meung Son, president of Eurasie Travel.
However, Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, said that local tourists may be less than in years past, thanks to inflation.
Only the rich are able to move around this year, he said.