Cambodian Tourism Planes to welcome 5 million arrivals by 2015

By Soy Sophea

Cambodian tourism officials said that ministry has set it plane to hospitalize 5 million arrivals by 2015 to visit kingdom. The Cambodian government has also begun planning a broader tourism plan to both keep foreigners in Cambodia longer, and develop some of the country's more impoverished areas, said Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism.

The minister told a seminar on August 28, 2008 that according to 2007 Ministry of Tourism statistic; more than 2 million international tourists visited Cambodia. His ministry estimates that there will be 2.5 million foreign tourists visiting Cambodia in 2008 and is planning on annual increases in this number from this point on.

Cambodian Ministry of Tourism statistics showed that nearly 1.1 million foreigners, including 67,502 from neighboring Thailand, entered Cambodia in the first six months of 2008.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon has said that although tourist arrivals have risen 13 percent from the same period last year he expects a significant drop in Thai arrivals this year owing to the border situation between two nations and the political standoff in Thailand.

More than half of the country’s international visitors flocked to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples in northwestern Siem Reap province, the ministry said.

Ho Vandy, President of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, told the Cambodia Weekly that he believed that the expectation of the arrivals would become true if the government compromise its facilities, build infrastructure and service

The President of the association noticed that Phnom Penh City has made great progress along the path towards development in the last half-decade.

He said, “I am able to see how the process of development has provided incremental improvement year after year. The roads have been improved to accommodate increased traffic and our electricity supply is much better than it used to be. Perhaps the most important improvement in my opinion has been in levels of security in the city.”

“With this commitment to continued development, progress and beautification, I hope that Phnom Penh will become increasingly attractive to international guests,” he said.

The World Heritage-listed ruins have been a vital key in reviving Cambodia's tourism sector since 2003, when a regional SARS panic and anti-Thai riots in the country's capital Phnom Penh made visitor figures plummet.

The tourism sector remains one of the few sources of foreign exchange for Cambodia, were millions still live in poverty.

In order to increase the number of international tourists and create work for Cambodian nationals, the Phnom Penh Municipality plans to develop the city’s infrastructure and create fresh new destinations to delight international tourists of the future.

Kep Chuktema, Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality, said that his office had big ambitions in developing the city, making it more attractive to international visitors and providing more employment opportunities for the people of the city and beyond.

“According to our Master Plan, we still have areas that can be improved and renovated, all of it contributing to the development of our city and the wider nation,” he said. “As far as I can tell, Phnom Penh will be subject to these developments for the next 5-10 years.”

Speaking by telephone to the Cambodia Weekly, the Governor said the main challenges facing the Municipality would be overcome during the fourth mandate of the Royal Cambodian Government. These activities will include rehabilitation work, environmental protection and traffic calming innovations.

He said, “In the future, we plan to beautify many more gardens, make roads safer for all users, make night markets brighter and introduce new entertainment outlets to the city.”
“The eventual goal of these infrastructure renovations and developments will be a greater number of foreign visitors, as well as expanded employment opportunities for Cambodians,” he added.

Chuktema added that recently, in order to attract tourists and promote progress in Phnom Penh, the Municipality had been paying attention to infrastructure development in Phnom Penh, with the introduction of improved roads, traffic lights and signs, gardens, supermarkets and tourist destinations.

He said that Phnom Penh’s Municipality had also planned to set up hi-definition wide screen television screens in six locations throughout Phnom Penh to promote Cambodian
business ventures and development. He added that to date, four of these huge screens had been installed in strategic locations around the city, broadcasting information about Phnom Penh business activities, developments and the nation’s un-miss able tourist attraction sites.

He also described the City’s efforts to establish a night market, situated at the Olympic Stadium along Preah Sihanouk Boulevard in Phnom Penh. Not content with this admirable development, he also spoke of future plans for a further night market in Sangkat Tuol Tumpong, Chamcar Morn district.

Chhay Khoeun, Kep Tourism Provincial Department, told the Cambodia Weekly that his office also improve its hospitality in order to achieve the ministry’s set. He said that his provinces started to create tourism communities among its 12 islands.
He said that each year his office plans to establish on local community of the islands in order to make local people taking part in the activities especially to up grade hospitality and environment for tourists.

“We want our people to join us to get benefit from tourism industry,” he said. “Without them we can not achieve our plan.”

However, he said that in order to increase the number of tourists, which in 2007 there were 150,000 tourists visited, his office will launch its website in October to show the world what Kep has and expect to get 200,000 in 2009.//