khmer sources

Thailand’s ever-growing MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) sector was on display over three days in mid-October during the annual IT & CMA/CTW Asia Pacific tourism exhibition and conference in Pattaya, Thailand. Buyers, planners, exhibitors and media from throughout the region and from overseas, descended on the resort to take part in the exhibition.

Cambodia made itself heard at a press conference on the second day of the event, when the chairman of the Cambodian National Tourism Authority (CANTA) H.E Veng Sereyvuth spoke about the future of this country’s tourism sector.
Veng Sereyvuth said in the next 5 or 10 years, 5 million tourists could visit Cambodia on an annual basis.

"We are already prepared for this," Veng Sereyvuth said at the conference. "In terms of hospitality, accommodation, infrastructure and tourist security, our government is ready."

"We have international class hotels currently investing in this country including, Raffles Hotel, the InterContinental, Sofitel, Accord and Le Meridien. These international brands of hotels understand very well how this country will grow as a tourist destination," he continued, "But that doesn’t mean we have enough investors in this market, it’s only a part. There are still many, many opportunities to do tourism-related business in Cambodia.

"Looking back over the past years, in 1993 we had about 120,000 tourists who traveled to Cambodia. Year after year the number of tourists arriving in the country has continued to increase, between 20 and 35 percent every year, especially in recent years … According to an official government report, in 2004, 1.3 million tourists came to Cambodia. Of those, 75 percent were regional tourists and the remainder from further afield," he said.

"We believe that in the coming years our regional tourists will continue to arrive in high numbers. They will be able to come straight from Malaysia, Singapore and then drive from Thailand direct to Angkor Wat. Right now, our government has begun to re-construct the 151km [road] from Siem Reap to Poipet. We have spent about $45 million and in another year and a half we will have finished it.

"That [road] will be the backbone for tourism in the region. From the Lao border through Stung Treng province we’ve nearly finished constructing the highway, while the other highway from Phnom Penh to Vietnam is already completed."

Veng Sereyvuth also said that in the long-term, in the next decade, Cambodia will have to have new airports as the current two international airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have a joint capacity of only 2.5 million tourists.

"MICE gives Cambodia the opportunity to bring tourism to another level," he said. "This country has 2000 temples … But besides this major part of our heritage, there is the potential of eco-tourism and national parks; there are also the areas in the north east; and the Cardammom Mountains in the south west linking the country to the coast, near Pattaya, Thailand."

On the closing evening of the conference, the Cambodian delegation organized "Cambodia Night", at which traditional food was served and dance performed for 1,200 guests from 39 different countries. Princess Norodom Rattana Devi attended the celebratory evening. "The style of living in Cambodia, the temples of an ancient civilization and the food of Cambodia are very unique," Veng Sereyvuth said. "For me, food is culture and culture is food."