Cambodia and Indonesia Forge Stronger Tourism Ties
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The Ministry of Tourism in Cambodia is gearing up to activate a comprehensive tourism cooperation agreement with Indonesia, following a memorandum of understanding that aims to enhance travel between the two countries. This initiative seeks to establish a coordinated travel program to streamline tourist visits to various attractions within both nations.
The announcement came as Cambodia’s Tourism Minister, Sok Soken, hosted a meeting with Santo Darmosumarto, the Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia. The discussions focused on revitalizing tourism exchanges and activities that had been dormant due to the global pandemic.
Minister Soken expressed gratitude towards the Indonesian government for its continuous support, noting a significant uptick in tourist arrivals to Cambodia, doubling in number over the past five months. He acknowledged Indonesia as a critical market for Cambodia’s tourism sector. This was evident during the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Laos, where Soken met with Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, to discuss collaborative strategies and policies to enhance tourism ties for mutual benefit.
Soken assured the Indonesian Ambassador of Cambodia’s readiness to put the tourism collaboration MoU into action, mentioning plans to deploy working groups to oversee the project’s success.
Ambassador Santo Darmosumarto welcomed the joint tourism initiative, emphasizing the need for collaboration to promote interconnected tourism destinations across both countries. He suggested leveraging platforms like Tripadvisor to enhance the visibility of Cambodian attractions, such as Angkor Wat, which he praised after visiting Siem Reap.
The Cambodian Tourism Ministry outlined its strategic framework for tourism development, encapsulated in the ‘BUILD’ pillars and supported by three components, the ‘3Ds’, aimed at transforming Cambodia into a leading, sustainable, and inclusive tourist destination.
Chhay Sivlin, President of the Cambodia Tourism Association, highlighted Indonesia’s potential as a vast market, given its large population and iconic destinations like Bali and Borobudur Temple. She noted the opportunities for Cambodia to attract a fraction of Indonesia’s tourists, advocating for increased direct flights to facilitate travel between the two nations and further boost tourism exchanges.
Source: Khmer Times
