Cambodia seeks private partnership to boost tourism
Cambodia government envisages a new programme to facilitate cooperation between the government and members of the private sector to enhance tourism development.
The government has formulated a Board on Tourism Marketing and Promotion, which seeks to strengthen the promotion of Cambodia as a tourism destination abroad.
The new body is composed of 15 members and is chaired by Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism. Half of the members will be from government agencies and the other half from the private sector. Five year will be tenure of a member.
Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
“The Board on Tourism Marketing and Promotion is formulated to promote partnerships and collaboration between the private sector and the government, to showcase Cambodia’s potential in tourism to the world,” said Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen in a statement issued during November.
“One of the main roles of the Board is to draft strategies for the promotion of Cambodia abroad,” added the PM.
“The board will work to fill gaps in the tourism sector,” said Chhay Sivlin, a member in the board. Sivlin is the President of Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA).
“Although the number of international tourists is increasing every year, there is still a lot of room for improvement. We hope this board will help the country fulfill its potential,” added Sivlin
Chhay Sivlin, CATA President
“We see that the tourism market continues to expand, with more and more tourists coming to Cambodia every year. However, there are still many issues that we have to deal with to improve the quality of our tourism products and continue attracting tourists,” said Sreat Mom Sophear, Director of Sophiya Travel and Tour.
Figures from the Ministry of Tourism show that Cambodia welcomed 4.8 million foreign tourists during the first ten months of the year, an increase of 11.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. The tourism board expect to have 7 million foreign tourists by 2020.
Chinese citizens top the list of tourists by nationality, with 1.6 million visiting the Kingdom from
