Preah Sihanouk Drops to Fifth Place in Tourist Destinations During KNY

• Sommana Yan
• 20 April 2023
• Local News
• 5543 Views

Preah Sihanouk Province, once a popular tourist destination, has dropped to fifth place during the Khmer New Year, with Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampong Cham, and Phnom Penh surpassing the coastal province.

The decline in visitors was due to the province being more popular on weekends and changes in tourist destination trends, according to Ministry spokesman HE Top Sopheak, as reported by Construction and Property Magazine on 19 April 2023.

The Ministry of Tourism reported that 13,187,771 people traveled to tourist destinations across the country during the three-day Khmer Traditional New Year holiday, including 13,132,080 domestic tourists and 55,691 foreign tourists.

Siem Reap attracted 2,120,373 tourists, Battambang attracted 1,500,168 tourists, Kampong Cham attracted 1,408,811 tourists, Phnom Penh attracted 1,080,509 tourists, and Sihanoukville attracted 887,893 tourists. Sihanoukville, which used to rank first or second every month, has now dropped to fifth place

Regarding this issue, Ministry spokesman Top Sopheak stated that the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway has resulted in a significant influx of tourists visiting the province, particularly for shorter periods. He also pointed out that tourism trends are always changing, and during the Khmer New Year, people can choose to visit other provinces.

Despite the decline in visitors to Preah Sihanouk during the Khmer New Year, the number of tourists has increased compared to 2022, thanks to improved COVID-19 situations and infrastructure development that supports tourism.

• Tourism and Travelling