Cambodia has removed the requirement for fully vaccinated international travellers to take an Antigen Rapid Test upon arrival at the country, in a further measure to open up the Southeast Asian country to tourism.
In addition there will be no requirement for travellers to produce a negative 72-hour PCR Test result before arrival in Cambodia. Both measures came into force on 17 March, 2022.
Passengers must still present a COVID-19 vaccination card recognised by their national health authority upon arrival. The new regulations only apply to fully vaccinated tourists.
“Incredible, Cambodia does it again,” says Lonely Planet writer and tourism consultant with the World Bank, Nick Ray. “Fantastic news for the tourism industry in Cambodia. It’s a game changer. It removes the risk from travel to Cambodia. It ensures that Cambodia cotinues to lead the way to a full reopening in Southeast Asia.”
Read Mark Bibby Jackson’s five reasons why we should all visit Cambodia now.
“Cambodia has shown strong leadership during the Covid crisis, consistently acting on facts as they became apparent,” says Willem Niemeijer, CEO of Yaana Ventures. “Cambodian authorities were amongst the first in Southeast Asia to adopt vaccinations, and now to understand that as the illness is less severe and manageable, the remaining measures left do much more harm than good.”
Nataly Wanhoff of Focus Asia agrees. “This is a very wise and welcome decision by the Cambodian government. They have taken the lead to reopen not only Cambodia, but hopefully the whole region for travelling without hassle again.”
Cathy Germier, CEO of Destination Mekong, says, “I would say that in uncertain times, we need leadership and bold decisions but great choices involve great responsibilities and these will have to be shared between decision makers, travellers and travel professionals.
Cambodia has also reintroduced Visas on Arrival for all international travellers, by air, land and sea.
On 15 November 2021, Cambodia re-opened to fully vaccinated international travellers under a Safe and Clean tourism campaign, which is a welcome step towards tourism recovery and sustainability in the ASEAN region and beyond.
For more on Cambodia, Mark Bibby Jackson also recently went wild in the Cardamons.
