Cebu Pacific Air to begin flights to Siemreap soon

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 26, 2012 - Cambodia will allow Cebu Pacific Air to operate direct flights from  Manila International Airport to Siemreap, the home of Angkor, in early April, a move that will help boosting tourism for both countries.

The agreement was unveiled in a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An and the Philippine Ambassador, H.E. Noe Albano Wong, on Thursday evening at the Office of the Council of Ministers.

H.E. Dr. Sok An, Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, welcomed the beginning of direct flights four times per week by Cebu Pacific Air to Cambodia’s northern province of Siemreap, the Kingdom’s biggest tourist destination thanks to the Angkor complex. The second biggest is the capital, Phnom Penh.

The Angkor complex was listed as a World Heritage site in 1992.

Dr. Sok An said Cambodia is ready to facilitate the direct flights as part of the government’s open sky policy to attract more investment and tourists to the Kingdom of Wonder.

The Philippine Ambassador, in response, expressed thanks to Dr. Sok An on behalf of Cebu Pacific Air for welcoming the Philippine carrier’s direct flights to Siemreap.

Cebu Pacific Air is currently the country’s leading domestic carrier, serving the most domestic destinations with the largest number flights and routes, and equipped with the youngest fleet. Its main base is Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, with other hubs at Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Zamboanga International Airport.

Cambodia received 2.88 million tourist arrivals in 2011 and expects an increase of around 14 percent in 2012, but a 27 percent increase in Siemreap province.