CHEA VANNAK AND MARK TILLY
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Indian airlines, like SpiceJet, could soon fly direct to Cambodia. Reuters |
India remains optimistic that a commercial airline will begin operating direct flights between the two countries but acknowledged that the route’s profitability remained an issue.
Indian Ambassador to Cambodia Naveen Srivastava said on Wednesday that despite the approval from both governments, no airlines had yet to take up the offer as there were still insufficient travelers flying directly between the two nations.
“It is mostly individuals, there are very few groups who are coming. Both the embassy and the government of Cambodia are working together to see if we can have a direct flight soon,” Mr. Srivastava said during a press conference.
“Governments can only do so much to encourage private airlines to look at direct flights, it’s about the economic viability to start,” he said.
He added, however, that tourism numbers between the two countries have been on an upward trend which could be an incentive for airlines.
“We are way ahead and the trend is positive. More people in India are learning about Cambodia and I think eventually it will reach a point where we can do it,” he said.
Tourism Ministry under-secretary of state So Visothy added that the Cambodian government has been actively promoting the country’s tourism potential in a bid to attract more travelers from India.
“We are working with the [Indian] airports and we’ve actively lobbied Indian airlines several times to include Cambodia as a destination. Hopefully an Indian airline will be interested. It’s a case of the chicken and the egg,” Mr. Visothy said.
“But in terms of civil aviation, they have already signed the agreement, we’re just hoping for an Indian airline to fly the route. It depends on the number of Indian tourists and whether it is profitable for the airline or not,” he reiterated.
In October, Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) and India’s aviation officials agreed to open up the direct route for commercial airlines to operate.
The SSCA said then that a memorandum of understanding between Cambodia and India for the direct flight route had been in existence since 2002, with the latest agreement intended to further legitimize the deal.
In the agreement, both countries agreed to allow direct flights from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to New Delhi and select Indian cities.
Ties between Cambodia and India go back to the first century AD when Hindu and Buddhist religious and cultural influences emanated out of India to various parts of Southeast Asia.
The pervading influence of Hinduism, Buddhism and Indian architecture are borne out by the magnificent structures at Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Phrom and other religious and historical sites in Cambodia.
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