PATA- Mekong Tourism Forum in Seam Reap, Cambodia

Mekong Delta-Chuck Kuhn Photography
Mason calls for Mekong tourism cooperation


Posted: Wed 28 Apr, 2010 12:00 AM

The Mekong Tourism Forum has lined up more speakers for next week’s ‘New Roads, New Opportunities’ conference in Seam Reap, Cambodia. Tourism ministers, travel industry CEOs and leading private sector and development minds will tackle challenges and opportunities facing tourism in the Mekong region.
Speakers include H.E. Dr Thong Khon - Minister of Tourism of Cambodia; Luzi Matzig, Group CEO - Asian Trails; former TAT governor Pradech Phayakvichien; Bill Black, Managing Director, Ativa Hospitality; Tran Trong Kien, CEO of Buffalo Tours Vietnam and Greg Duffell - CEO of PATA. The ‘In conversation with’ slot sees former Singapore Tourism Board chief Lim Neo Chian interviewed by Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editor and Producer of WIT-Web In Travel.
Opportunities and threats will be analysed against a backdrop of growth. "Tourism demand for Mekong region destinations is storming ahead," says Mason Florence, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office in Bangkok. "We need to work together to make sure development is fair and sustainable and that we remove obstacles to growth and poverty alleviation."
Government speakers will update the audience on visa regulations, border crossing changes and airport developments as well as new policies and incentives for the tourism sector.

Cambodian authorities consider opening Angkor Wat temples at night for tourists

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia is considering opening the famed Angkor Wat temples at night to draw more tourists to the impoverished country, an official at the archeological site said.

Similar night tourism efforts have been introduced at other sites in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia already has installed some lights at the network of centuries-old temples, said Bun Narith, who leads the agency responsible for managing the Angkor park.

Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia. More than a million foreign tourists are expected to visit this year, with most from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of tourists visit the Angkor temples, by far the country's biggest draw.

Visitors are now ushered out of Angkor at sunset, but authorities are considering extending visiting hours to as late as 8:30 p.m. local time.

"We want tourists to see all views of the temple, even in the dark places where they may have not have seen some of the sculptures and statues," Bun Narith said.

But conservationists have long expressed concerns about tourism's impact on Angkor. They say the uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet the rising demand of hotels and residents in the nearby town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the temples.