Cambodia Travel Mart concludes on grand note
The 3rd Cambodia Travel Mart (CTM), the Kingdom’s first premium Travel Trade Show, which concluded at the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel today, witnessed increased participation from more countries this year. Thousands of local and international tourism stakeholders attended the largest and most important event in the Kingdom’s tourism industry, held from October 11 to 13.
The tourism minister, Thong Khon, has announced their long-term plans to improve the tourism sectors in different provinces of the Kingdom, including Siem Reap, Mondulkiri and Kep at the inaugural function. He has also announced some of the major upcoming tourism events like the Sea Festival in Kampot, Mangrove Day in Koh Kong and Mekong River Dolphin Day in Kratie.
Organisers have framed the event as the best opportunity to network and promote Cambodia’s tourism industry to the outside world. The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Slickbooth, an international event management firm. More than 200 exhibitors and 6,000 participants from more than 60 countries have participated in the Cambodia Travel Mart.
“CTM 2019 is the best tourism business platform in Southeast Asia for exhibitors from different countries to promote their products and services, as well as to develop tourism business networking, business opportunities, and much more,” said Minister of Tourism Thong Khon.
Among the exhibitors were travel agencies, hotels, airlines, national tourism organisations, and tour operators from different countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. More than 30 local and international media organisations were also represented at the event.
In addition to the exhibition, the event also featured destination seminars, buyer/seller appointment sessions, art performances, and networking activities. Last year’s CTM, which was also held in Phnom Penh, attracted more than 170 exhibitors.
Cambodia has the third fastest-growing tourism industry in Southeast Asia. The Kingdom, which is benefiting from an influx of visitors from China, registered an 11 percent increase in arrivals last year, figures that were only surpassed by Vietnam and Indonesia. In 2018, Cambodia received a total of 6.2 million visitors. The Kingdom expects 6.7 million tourists for this year and targets 12 million visitors by 2025. Cambodia attracted 1.7 million Chinese tourists during the first eight months of 2019, up 33 per cent over the same period last year, according to its Tourism Ministry’s latest report. The report showed that China remained the largest source of foreign visitors to the Southeast Asian nation, accounting for 39 per cent of the total foreign arrivals to the country during the January-August period this year.
“We hope to attract about 2.6 million Chinese tourists in 2019, three million in 2020, five million in 2025 and up to eight million in 2030,” said Thong Khon, tourism minister of Cambodia. A total of 4.36 million international tourists travelled to Cambodia during the first eight months of this year, up 10.4 per cent over the same period last year.