Competition between Sihanoukville and the
Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc for a share of the fattening tourism pie is set
to intensify, analysts say, with Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnamese government
this week announcing a concerted effort to direct tourists to the island.
In a
statement issued June 14, Vietnam Airlines announced it will commence operating
direct flights three times per week between Siem Reap and Phu Quoc from
November 1.
“The
next year, increasing the frequency of the above routes will be based on market
conditions,” the statement said, adding that the island destination is a key
focus of Vietnam’s tourism strategy.
The
company did not detail how much a one-way or return ticket would cost for the
new route.
Vietnam
Airlines’ new flights stand to further enhance Vietnam Airlines' hold over
Cambodia’s aviation market, with the firm already owning a 49 per cent stake in
the Kingdom’s only domestic airline, Cambodia Angkor Air.
Phu
Quoc Airport, which began welcoming domestic flights in December after a
four-year construction period, is located some 50 kilometers from
Sihanoukville. The island is also the only destination in Vietnam that does not
require tourists to have a visa.
In
response to Vietnam Airlines’ announcement, Brendan Sobie, chief analyst and
Singapore representative at the Australian-based Centre for Aviation (CAPA)
said the new connectivity could detract tourists from Cambodia’s own coastal
hot spot, Sihanoukville.
“Cambodia
has been keen to attract more regular domestic services at Sihanoukville as
well as international services as part of an effort to boost its tourism sector
and attract Siem Reap visitors to stay in Cambodia rather than hop over to
Thailand or Vietnam,” he said.
“Vietnam
Airlines' investment in a Phu Quoc-Siem Reap link, rather than a new route at
Sihanoukville through its Cambodian joint venture may end up ruffling feathers.
But the reality is Sihanoukville has even bigger infrastructure challenges than
Phu Quoc.”
Sihanoukville
Airport is slated for renovation along with the country’s two other major
airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. But construction has yet to begin and air
passenger numbers remain sluggish in the coastal town.
In
2013, a total of 20,000 passengers flew between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville
airports, according to Cambodia Airports data. That figure is on the rise with
the coastal airport already welcoming more than 24,000 visitors to June this
year – a increase of 146 per cent on the same period last year.
But
Sihanoukville’s recent gains remain dwarfed by its Vietnamese island neighbour.
According to Vietnam Airlines’ June 14 statement, more than 700,000 domestic
Vietnamese passengers arrived and departed through Phu Quoc Airport during
2013. So far this year, more than 449,000 have travelled through the new port
entry.
Norinda
Khek, spokesman for Cambodia Airports said competition is common in the
aviation sector, especially when it comes to similar tourism destinations, and
admitted that action is needed to ensure Sihanoukville’s future tourism trade.
“It is
therefore up to all stakeholders of the Cambodian tourism industry and the
royal government to step up efforts in making Sihanoukville an attractive
destination out of its huge untapped opportunities," he said.
The
spokesman’s call for more private and public sector attention on Sihanoukville
was hailed by Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Private-Public Tourism Sector Working
Group.
Vandy
called on the government to consider introducing a visa-free policy similar to
Vietnam, and provide incentives to the tourism and aviation sector to invest in
Sihanoukville’s infrastructure development.
“If our
government is smart, they would think about this,” he said, adding that members
of the commercial tourism sector had previously recommended scrapping
compulsory visas for all tourists travelling to Cambodia.
“The
Vietnamese government was smart to introduce a visa-free zone. We would also
like to see new plans, marketing, promotion and policy to help the private
sector and to foster new planning and development to attract the tourists from
Siem Reap.”
On the same
day as the airline’s announcement, Vietnam’s Transport Minister, Dinh La Thang,
called on the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to meet with the State
Secretariat of Civil Aviation of Cambodia (CAC) to discuss new flight routes
expediting travel from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh and then onto Phu Quoc.
According
to Thang, Vietnam stands to save $300 million in fuel costs per year if the CAC
and the Lao government agree to allow Vietnamese airlines to fly directly
through both countries’ airspace en route to southern tourist destinations,
rather than taking the loner route around within Vietnamese airspace.
“We are
planning to negotiate with Lao and Cambodian agencies on reducing the transit
fees this August so we can design a nonstop Hanoi-HCM City route,” he was
quoted as saying in Vietnamese media reports.
Kao
Sivorn, director general of operations for the CAC, confirmed the meeting and
that Cambodia could capitalise off such a route change.
“Cambodian
air space is not too crowded yet. We still have space for more flights over. It
is like a product has already been made and why should we keep it unused when
it could generate revenue,” he said, declining to detail how much Vietnam will
be billed for the use of Cambodian airspace.
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