PREAH SIHANOUK: The Director of the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Department of Tourism, Taing Sochet Krisna, said that during the three-day Chinese New Year, from 22-24 January 2023, Preah Sihanouk Province received 200,000 national and international tourists. Many local visitors also utilized the new Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway when visiting and returning home.

"On the occasion of the Chinese New Year, from 22-24 January, Sihanoukville received a total of over 200,000 tourists, including about 3,000 foreigners," said Taing Sochet Krisna.

He added that the busiest days were Sunday and Monday, when the majority of people went to visit the beach. However, 70% to 80% of visitors did not stay overnight since the expressway has made it easier for people to travel.

Furthermore, while the lodging service in Sihanoukville was not booming, the food service did very well. He stressed that the businesses of restaurants, cafes, and beach vendors are all doing extremely well.

He added that garbage is becoming a problem because of visitors not being responsible for their own waste and littering on the beach.

"There is a lot of garbage on the beach; some tourists brought their food, mats, and tents, but before leaving, they did not clean up, causing a lot of littering on the beach," he said.

The provincial department is currently working on cleaning up the beaches every day.

Over the three-day holiday there was also one flight that landed per day at the Kang Keng Airport in Sihanoukville Province. A total of three flights were recorded, each carrying over 100 passengers.