Tourbusiness of Cambodia relies on a new airline

The new airline of Cambodia «Cambodia Angkor Air» turned a profit, said on Thursday the Prime Minister Hun Sen.

This has strengthened the hopes of the participants of the tourism market that the airline would not repeat the fate of its predecessor.

The company «Cambodia Angkor Air», capitalization of which is US $ 100 million, opened in July of the previous year.

The company’s shares belongs to the Government of Cambodia and to the corporation «Vietnam Airlines». Its aim is to promote the establishment of resorts in Cambodia and to increase the tourist flow into the country.

“We thought that during the first two years the airline will be unprofitable – said Hun Sen during the regional press conference. – However, the number of those who use its services was much higher than assumed, and eventually the company has already made a profit”.

Its predecessor, «Royal Air Cambodge» was forced to curtail its activities in 2001, after its losses have reached US $ 30 million. Airline Company «Cambodia Angkor Air» services flights between the tourist zone «Siem Reap» and Vietnamese city Ho Chi Minh.

For several decades, tourism in Cambodia has been paralyzed by political conflict, which ended only in 1998. However, the sector is now at the stage of recovery and is the only source of income of foreign currency in Cambodia.

In 2009 the tourist flow to Cambodia was 2 million people and the Government hopes that next year this figure will increase to 3 million. A number of international airlines, including «Japan Airlines» and «Qatar Airways» are now serving direct flights to Cambodia.