Cambodia's Tourist Numbers Rise

Posted by Mari Nicholson Jan 2, 2008

In 2007, the number of tourists visiting Cambodia topped the 2 million mark, a 20% rise on the previous year. However, without the World Heritage listed ruins of Angkor Wat, it is doubtful if this increase could have been accomplished, as the Sars panic of 2003 plus the anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh a few years ago frightened many visitors away.

The famed temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, are the big money-spinners in Cambodia today, thanks to improved facilities for tourists. New up-market hotels and restaurants, a cleaned up town and a local market, all now serve to make this an attractive destination in its own right.

Tourism is seen as one of the main sources of foreign exchange for the cash-strapped country.Up-scale resorts are in the process of being built, and others planned, on Cambodia's southern coast which, up until now, has been the haunt of budget conscious travellers. The government is keen to develope eco-tourism in this area and they believe that a better infrastructure and upscale resorts will tempt tourists to visit and linger.

A boost for tourism comes from no less a source than the Conde Nast-owned website, Epicurious, which opines that Cambodian food is set for popularity. Certainly, the French influence gives them a head-start when it comes to satisfying European and American tastes, their wines are kept in perfect condition, something they share with Vietnam but which Thailand neglects to its cost, and they make wonderful bread!

China has indicatied that it may open some factories there, and computer firm Quanta, is currently assessing locations in the area for a factory.

Cambodia has long been mired in poverty, and the civil strife so well documented in the film The Killing Fields, has cast a long shadow over the country for many years. Perhaps that will now end.