Cambodia's tourism potential problems, how to fix it?

Tourism is the second pillar industry of Cambodia and the main growth point of the national economy. Its proportion of GDP exceeds 10%. The GDP contribution rate of related industries driven by tourism is close to 40%. Cambodia’s tourism industry in Asian countries with the highest GDP percentage.

In 2019, the total number of international tourists visiting Cambodia was 6.61 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, and the year-on-year increase has increased year-on-year. However, Siem Reap province, where Angkor Wat, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, dropped by 14.9, %, The tourism industry in Siem Reap province showed a significant decline.

In addition, affected by the COVID-2019 this year, Cambodia's tourism industry is even worse. This year's Chinese New Year, the number of tourists in Siem Reap province dropped sharply to 50%. The catering, hotel, retail and other related industries were severely impacted, and revenue and turnover plummeted.

Siem Reap, as a major tourism city in Cambodia, is the representative of Cambodia's tourist city, and also a window to understand the development of Cambodia's tourism industry. The weak infrastructure of the scenic spot, inadequate services, lack of government supervision, and the lack of a long-term mechanism for the management of the tourism market have made the problem of Cambodia's tourism industry increasingly prominent and urgently need to be change.

What are the problems in Cambodia's tourism industry?

1. Tourism infrastructure is weak, roads are too poor, traffic is too chaotic

Except for the main roads in Cambodia, traffic conditions are slightly better, other infrastructures are backward, the roads to tourist attractions are bumpy, traffic is chaotic, and long ride times affect the tourist experience. In addition, the tourist attractions of Siem Reap, Westport, and Phnom Penh are scattered, and the transportation between the provinces and cities is inconvenient. It takes time to visit the three provinces and cities, causing tourists to abandon their country's multi-site attractions, resulting in loss of local attractions revenue.

2.Scenic tourism products and souvenir are too single, many inferior products

The products in the tourist attractions are too single and have not been effectively developed. For example: Siem Reap province has no other attractions that excite tourists except Angkor Wat. In addition to the seaside and casino, Sihanoukvile has no historical and cultural tourist attractions. Scenic cities in Cambodia need to be developed to enhance economic added value. At the same time, some tour guides in tourist attractions, travel agencies and owners of handicraft souvenirs and souvenir shops are deceiving tourists by selling fake and inferior products for personal gain.

1. ‘Free tour group’ tourism, damaged tourism regulations

Many travel companies and travel agencies use group fares below the cost of travel to attract and seduce tourists. After the tourists arrive at their destinations, the local agency then takes the tourists to high-priced shops for shopping and sells items at their own expense to fill with additional consumption. Take the gain as tour group fee. Tour guides and travel agencies draw high rebates from them to earn commissions and profits, which undermines tourism regulations and damages Cambodia's image and reputation in the tourism industry.

4. Lack of scenic area management and lack of service awareness

The construction and management of public infrastructure services in the scenic spot is insufficient, the protection of the scenic spot is insufficient, and the safety management is needed. There are no public toilets in the scenic spot. There are many garbage such as mineral water bottles and plastic bags in the river and streams. Barrels and other facilities also showed signs of obsolescence.

Governance of tourism and future development

In order to put an end to the chaos in the tourism industry, the Cambodian government strengthened the supervision and inspection of souvenir shops in scenic spots, and prevented some shops selling fake goods from selling defective products to customers in a timely manner. On the other hand, in order to effectively prevent the occurrence of ‘free tour group' , the Cambodian government has adopted strict legal measures. If a tourist guide deceives tourist and is reported, the guide will be directly blacklisted on the official website of the Ministry of Tourism.

On July 12, 2019, the Cabinet Plenary considered and approved the draft Consumer Protection Law submitted by the Ministry of Commerce. In addition to protecting the rights and interests of consumers from unethical business practices, the new law also regulates the advertising information of enterprises and merchants to prevent exaggerated and false publicity.

The draft will provide the legal framework and guidance for relevant departments to formulate consumer protection laws. At the same time, the Cambodian government has improved the tourism situation in Siem Reap by formulating a project in the "Master Plan for the Development of Tourism in Siem Reap Province", researching Angkor tourist attractions, designing and manufacturing new tourism products, and attracting more tourists for sightseeing and long-term stay.

In addition, the government has also developed and expanded various infrastructures in Siem Reap Province, including promoting the construction of the Phnom Penh-Siem Reap Highway project, high-speed rail projects, widening roads, and building a larger international airport. Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and other important provinces.

Under various policies, the tourism industry in Siem Reap has improved. This year, in order to avoid a continued decline in the tourism industry, the Cambodian government has introduced measures such as halving travel packages fee and calling on merchants to actively reduce prices to attract more tourists to ease the current predicament. At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism is also actively taking measures, hoping to regulate the tourism market through legal aspects.

In the future, I believe that Cambodia's tourism industry will become more standardized and improved, and tourism products will become more and more abundant, attracting more international tourists.