Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series about tourism in Cambodia.
As Cambodia hangs big hopes on cultural tourism, it’s clear that virtually every other country in the region is doing the same thing.
Nobody appears to be trying harder than China.
Twenty-seven countries sent delegates to the recent World Tourism Organization conference on cultural tourism in Siem Reap. Most countries sent one or two representatives.
China sent 14.
If you count population, China is the world’s biggest country with more than 1.2 billion people. If you count land mass, it comes third, only after Russia and Canada.
Either way, it’s the heavyweight in almost any equation, according to the organization, which predicts that by the year 2020 China, with an estimated population of nearly 1.5 billion, will be the single most popular tourist destination in the world, edging out perennial favorites France and Spain.
It will also supply a hefty percentage of the world’s travelers, particularly to Asian countries, the organization said.
Cambodian officials say they can count on attracting their share of Chinese tourists, especially as the “open skies” airline policy encourages regional carriers to add flights.
In June China and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding meant to boost the number of Chinese tourists coming to Cambodia through package tours set up by the Chinese National Tourism Authorities.
China has selected Cambodia as an official “approved destination” and tourism officials in Cambodia say they expect between 200,000 and 300,000 Chinese tourists to arrive annually.
Chinese tourism officials, however, came to Siem Reap not to scope out the sights but to tout China as a great place to visit.
They brought glossy thick booklets touting the glories of one province or another, from ethnic festivals to stone forests, sand sculptures to hot springs.
China is so vast that it seems more a collection of countries than a single destination. For example, Yunnan province, which lies just north of Vietnam, Laos and Burma, has 42 million people; Shandong province on the east coast has 89 million.
And while China certainly has its share of tourist attractions, from the Great Wall to the Forbidden City, its size can be daunting to a tourist.
Those were some of the reasons the World Tourism Organization began work in 1993 on a “Silk Road Project,” an attempt to recreate for tourists the trading route from Japan and Korea across China through Central Asia and the Near East to Europe.
The route will cross 19 countries, some of which offer far more advanced tourism facilities than others. Among the goals of the World Tourism Organization will be to upgrade accommodations and handicrafts along the way, so tourists are encouraged to buy native handicrafts rather than buying yet more T-shirts, and villagers will have a stable means of making a living from tourism.
One of the biggest hurdles will be coming up with a Silk Road visa that allows tourists to move easily from country to country.
But the size and complexity of the project means a great deal of advance work will be necessary. The organization has compiled an “exhaustive inventory of all tourism resources along the Silk Road,” a document states.
It is also already promoting the route at tourism industry fairs around the world, and is helping produce a new guide book, to be called “The Silk Route,” published by Trailblazer publications.
The Japanese, who have done research on the route, have organized a 55-day tour of the Silk Road, which at least 200 intrepid Japanese have signed up for.
Asked how much a 55-day tour of 19 nations might cost, the Japanese tour official smiled. “A lot,” he said.
