Foreigners will pay more to enter Cambodia following a government decision to raise visa fees by USD10 starting in October.
According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, international tourists will have to pay USD30 for a one-month entry visa and business visitors USD35, up from the USD20 and USD25, respectively.
The new one-month e-visa fee will be USD37 (USD30 (plus USD7 on precessing fee) up from the current fee of USD27 (USD20 visa fee and USD7 procession fee).
The announcement was posted at http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/default.aspx.
Ministry of Tourism general director, Ith Chantha, told local media that the government believed the increase was small and not enough to cause a problem for tourism.
“The fees are still reasonable compared to most other countries where the fees are USD70, USD80, USD100…like Australia and the US,” he said.
However, Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism, said the move would put pressure on Cambodia’s tourism sector at a time when competition to attract visitors is heating up.
“The government should think more about promotion and creating attractive policies. Increasing the cost of a visa could be viewed as a negative.”
Tourism is one of the four major pillars supporting the Cambodian economy, accounting for an estimated 16% of the GDP.
For January to June this year, the country welcomed 2,201,368 international travellers improving 5.2% from 2,092,599 visits during the same period in 2013.
Cambodia is projected to receive 4.6 million international visitors this year, an expected rise of 10% from 4.2 million last year.
