Deputy Prime Minister Sok An met newly appointed Chinese Ambassador Bu Jianguo in Phnom Penh on Monday to discuss plans to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Cambodia.
The meeting was one of a number of post-election tete-a-tetes between ruling CPP officials and Ms. Bu, who was one of the first diplomats to congratulate the CPP after it claimed victory in the July 28 poll.
Ms. Bu said that she would devote her three-year diplomatic mission to enhancing China-Cambodia ties in all fields, including promoting Cambodia as a tourist destination and developing projects that would benefit the tourist sector, according to state-owned newspaper Xinhua.
According to Ministry of Tourism figures, China ranked third behind Vietnam and South Korea in terms of visitors to Cambodia, with 334,000 arrivals in 2012, but that number had increased 35 percent since 2011. During the first five months of this year, about 202,400 Chinese traveled to Cambodia, up 53 percent compared to the same period last year.
“Cambodia is definitely an attractive destination for Chinese tourists now, in particular with Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, which is very well known in China, and with more and more flights connecting—I think at least 20 cities on the Chinese mainland—to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh airports, it will continue to grow,” said Jimmy Gao, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
In June, the Ministry of Tourism unveiled a five-year plan to bring in 1.3 million Chinese visitors by 2018.
The plan proposes introducing Chinese-language road signs, increasing flights and expanding the number of Chinese cities connecting to Cambodian airports, training more Chinese-speaking tour guides and developing official China Town areas in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
“We would obviously welcome the creation of China towns. Chinese visitors are tourists first, but second, they are potential business investors, so it would increase opportunities,” said Mr. Gao. “But the city is already very convenient for Chinese visitors, there are many signs in Chinese and a lot of Chinese food.”
Tourism Minister Thong Khon could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, while the Chinese Embassy declined to comment.
