[Demographic Vietnamization] Programme to promote Vietnamese tourism in Cambodia

Programme to promote Vietnamese tourism in Cambodia

Nhan Dan | 30 August 2017

NDO –Vietnam’s General Department of Tourism, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism co-ordinated with Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism and the Embassy of Vietnam in Cambodia to organise a programme promoting Vietnamese tourism in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on August 29.

As part of activities to mark the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Cambodia diplomatic relations, the programme aims to boost the exchange of tourists and promote the connection of tourist destinations between the two countries and attracted delegates from 100 travel agencies, hotel and communication agencies of Cambodia. Addressing the event, Deputy Director General of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu expressed his wish to receive the cooperation of the Cambodian delegates and businesses in introducing the image of Vietnam to more Cambodian tourists. He also expressed his hope that the tourism destinations of the two countries will become more closely connected, becoming a common destination in the region and contributing to attracting more tourists from other countries. From 2009 to 2016, Vietnam has led the number of visitors to Cambodia with millions of people visiting the country each year, while Vietnam is also the first destination of Cambodian tourists when traveling abroad. In 2016 alone, the exchange of visitors between the two countries reached over 1.17 million, of which nearly 212,000 were Cambodian visitors to Vietnam. Cambodia is among the top 15 Vietnam tourism markets and in the first seven months of this year, Vietnam welcomed more than 131,000 Cambodian visitors, up 24% over the same period in 2016. According to the Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon, in 2016, Cambodia welcomed over 5 million international visitors (up 5% over 2015), of which Vietnam lead the number of visitors with 960,000 travellers. The minister also stated that Cambodia and Vietnam have a lot of tourism potential, not only for the people of the two countries, but also for visitors from other countries. The two countries should continue to increase direct air routes and promote road and waterway connections. The development of new tourism products and the promotion of beach area tourism sites in the two countries promise to boost tourism growth in the region, he said. At the event, the participants had an opportunity to learn about Vietnam's tourism destinations in general and the tourism products of some localities in particular, in addition to a number of tourist routes and attractive destinations, such as the road routes from Cambodia to the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast of Vietnam.