Cambodia To Require Covid-19 Deposit of USD 3000 for Tourist

Countries in the world slowly open up again in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that was not completely over yet. However, each country has begun to implement certain rules to ensure the safety of its residents and people visiting the country. For this safety issue, Cambodia has enacted rules that are quite costly.

As reported by foxnews.com, the Cambodian government requires foreign tourists to pay a security deposit of USD 3000 or around IDR 42.3 million (IDR 14,110 / USD) with cash or credit cards. The deposit must be deposited upon arrival in the country.

Based on the information from the Civil Aviation Department of Cambodia, the security deposit will be used to cover any testing, quarantining and medical costs that may arise amid the current pandemic. Therefore, they stated that the deposit could be refunded, but not entirely.

Quoted from lonelyplanet.com, details of the use of the deposit include, upon arrival at the Cambodian airport, travelers must pay USD 5 for transportation to the testing center. Then, they pay USD 100 to do a Covid-19 test. In addition, all foreign tourists are also required to present proof of travel insurance which includes medical coverage of not less than USD 50,000.

Moreover, the visitors are also required to stay overnight in a hotel that has been determined until the test results come out with a room price of USD 30. They also have to spend a fee of USD 30 for three meals per day. The remainder of the deposit will be returned as long as passengers and people on their flight have negative test results. However, despite the negative result, tourists still need to conduct self-quarantine for 14 days after their arrival at their chosen accomodation. 

Meanwhile, if these tourists are declared positive for Covid-19, then they will spend even more money. They have to pay a fee of around USD 3150 for treatment at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh and will be asked to take several more tests at a cost of USD 100 for each test. Then, if these tourists die due to Covid-19, the cremation service charge is USD 1500. That is why foreign tourists are still required to have travel insurance because these costs can exceed a deposit of USD 3000.

The regulation of this deposit is effective on 11 June. It is an additional rule from the previous regulations regarding coronavirus prevention measures for foreign travelers who require them to provide a health certificate stating their negative Covid-19 status, dated within the previous 72 hours.

For information, Cambodia is one of the countries in the world that is quite successful in controlling the spread of the corona virus in the country. Until now, Cambodia only recorded 128 confirmed positive cases of Corona with zero death. (Ken)