Cambodia: In the Land of Angkor

November 26, 2010

Cambodia: An increasingly popular tourist destination

by John Teo@www.nst.com.my

FOR a small nation and a bit out of the way for main air traffic along the so-called kangaroo route from Australia to Europe or East Asia to Southeast Asia, Cambodia is doing rather nicely with its tourism industry.The temples of Angkor are easily the main tourist-puller, drawing more than a million of them each year and making the tidy little town of Siem Reap home to more than 10,000 hotel rooms of all star-categories.

Temple tour guides are a rather specialised group and come equipped with many language skills catering to the multiplicity of nationalities, making their trek to this historical wonder of the ancient world: English, French, German and, in growing numbers, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thais and Taiwanese.

The East Asians will mostly be flying in direct into Siem Reap through regularly scheduled flights while the Europeans will most likely be flying in from the major regional hubs of Bangkok, Singapore and, increasingly, Kuala Lumpur, where there are now more than 20 flights each week into both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

The secretary of state in the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, Sam Promonea, was thus understandably bullish about tourism prospects in his country when he sat down last month with this writer in Phnom Penh. Aided by a battery of senior officials, he showed how Cambodia is on course to attain more than two million t! ourist a rrivals for this year.

More gratifyingly, Phnom Penh has finally come up to be almost on a par with Siem Reap in terms of tourist drawing power, with both likely to chalk up a million tourists each this year. This is largely attributed to the fact that the major casino resort in Phnom Penh has been phenomenally successful in drawing visitors from all over.But Cambodias tourism ambitions do not stop with just Angkor and the casino.

The sea coast around Sihanoukville is slated to become Cambodias Riviera with eco-resorts, beach bungalows and spas catering to a luxury clientele. A backpacker paradise as it is, it will become Cambodias answer to Thailands Phuket and Koh Samui in the relatively more sheltered Gulf of Thailand once the Sihanoukville Airport opens for regional flights next year.

Another unique tourism selling point for Cambodia will be its giant Tonle Sap lake, a stones throw by road from Siem Reap. The lakes dimensions are gargantuan; it appears more like the open sea, with sheer nothingness but the horizon as one peers out into the distance. Its rich biodiversity is not just restricted to teeming fisheries but what is reputed to be one of the richest collections of bird life anywhere on its shoreline, feeding from life in the lake.

Cambodia can draw out the best in many, taken in by its many charms. One only needs to make a cursory inspection of the many multinational groups of conservationists doing their bit to help preserve Angkors ruins. A casual count will net quite an interesting mix: from the obvious ones of India and Japan to the former European colonial power, France and even relative minnows such as the Czech Republic. Individuals contribute in no small way as well to the great promise of Cambodian tourism. One of them is Chris Ho, the Malaysian general manager of the Royal Angkor Resort, an indep! endently -managed four-star property in Siem Reap.

Ho, a long-time resident of Cambodia and pioneering mentor of a network of some 50 professionals based in Siem Reap, bewails the fact that Cambodian tourism, while raking in revenues for the countrys national treasury, has not done much to alleviate the poverty evident in the hinterland that surrounds Siem Reap.

Together with several senior government officials, he has helped form the Tonle Sap Learning Lab for Sustainable Tourism, an innovative multi-disciplinary body comprising select members from government, the private sector and academia dedicated to drawing up a 10-year master plan to ensure ordinary Cambodians benefit from the tourism industry, beyond the obvious areas of direct employment in the various services catering to tourists.

As far as Siem Reap is concerned, the most pressing need will be to look beyond the obvious attraction of

Le Royal, Phnom Penh

Angkor Wat and seek to broaden the areas appeal to tourists through its natural assets, its native cultures and its traditional agricultural and other economic activities.

Cambodian tourism looks to be on the cusp of a major boom with a resurgent East Asia expected to give it a powerful boost. Its government is hungry for foreign investors to help the country realise that promise. It is, at the same time, highly receptive to ideas and any assistance it can get to ensure the industry develops on a fully sustainable basis.

Malaysian tourism industry players will be looking at potential huge dividends if they seek to venture into Cambodia more aggressively while working seamlessly with our airlines that can turn Kuala Lumpur into an even bigger jumping-off point for Cambodia-bound long-haul tourists.

See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?