Korean Air to stop direct flights to Siem Reap due to less Korean tourists.
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 11:22 am
Cambodia’s aviation body, the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, has been informed of the suspension of the direct flights.
“Korean Air informed us that they were suspending the flights from Incheon to Siem Reap and we formally acknowledged their communication. We were told that Korean Air wanted to concentrate on more profitable routes,” said Sin Sereyvutha, the aviation body’s spokesman.
The suspension of the direct Incheon-Siem Reap flights comes as the Kingdom recorded a fall in the number of South Korean tourists visiting the country. In the first nine months of the year, some 264,000 South Koreans visited Cambodia, a fall of 11 percent compared with the same period last year.
Tour operators expressed their dismay over Korean Air’s decision and called on the government to do more to promote Cambodia in South Korea.
“It’s not only Cambodia that is facing a fall in the number of South Korean tourists, other countries, too, are facing a similar predicament. The Ministry of Tourism has to do more to promote Cambodia in South Korea to attract more South Koreans to visit the country,” said Luu Meng, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism.
“Korean Air suspending flights to Siem Reap – the home of Angkor Wat – should be taken seriously. It could also affect other tourists and there might be a cascading effect on businesses that depend on tourism,” he said.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32405/ ... p-flights/
“Korean Air informed us that they were suspending the flights from Incheon to Siem Reap and we formally acknowledged their communication. We were told that Korean Air wanted to concentrate on more profitable routes,” said Sin Sereyvutha, the aviation body’s spokesman.
The suspension of the direct Incheon-Siem Reap flights comes as the Kingdom recorded a fall in the number of South Korean tourists visiting the country. In the first nine months of the year, some 264,000 South Koreans visited Cambodia, a fall of 11 percent compared with the same period last year.
Tour operators expressed their dismay over Korean Air’s decision and called on the government to do more to promote Cambodia in South Korea.
“It’s not only Cambodia that is facing a fall in the number of South Korean tourists, other countries, too, are facing a similar predicament. The Ministry of Tourism has to do more to promote Cambodia in South Korea to attract more South Koreans to visit the country,” said Luu Meng, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism.
“Korean Air suspending flights to Siem Reap – the home of Angkor Wat – should be taken seriously. It could also affect other tourists and there might be a cascading effect on businesses that depend on tourism,” he said.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32405/ ... p-flights/