Siem Reap Adds Officials to Help With Visitors

Siem Reap province has added two deputy governors to help deal with the increasing number of official visitors and tourists, provincial governor Chap Nhalivudh said.

CPP member Chan Sophal, a former provincial financier, and  former Funcinpec Rural Develop­ment Ministry official Cheng Lim Sreang were appointed by Minis­ter of the Interior Sar Kheng last month. The ap­point­ments will be announced Friday.

“We added two more deputy governors because Siem Reap province has a lot of work to do,” said Nuth Sa An, cabinet adviser to Sar Kheng. “Many government guests come to visit Siem Reap.”

Minister of Tourism Veng Serey­vuth said the amount of business and tourism through Siem Reap calls for more help.

“[The town of] Siem Reap needs to have the same status as Phnom Penh,” he said. Phnom Penh is an autonomous municipality not controlled by a provincial authority, as are Kep, Pailin, Bat­tambang and Sihanoukville.

“The government sees three centers for growth: Phnom Penh, Sihanouk­ville, and Angkor Wat,” said one diplomatic official.

“In the case of Siem Reap, the attraction is already there. Now they are trying to get more people with expertise to figure out how Siem Reap can better manage the tourism.”

 

Related Stories

Latest News