Cambodia to recruit guides

PHNOM PENH Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has set a target to have at least 300,000 qualified tour guides by 2025 to work both within the country and the region.

Agence Kampuchea Presse reported that the Minister of Tourism, Thong Khon, outlined an ambitious training plan during a recent meeting in Phnom Penh.

“An additional 50,000 guides are needed every year as more and more visitors are visiting Cambodia,” he said.

No further details were given, but training 300,000 guides in eight years is a mammoth task that will require a major overall of training instructions.

Cambodia has 588 tour agencies, 32 tourism sports sites, and 5,088 tour guides.

The country currently has 1,429 tourist attractions, of which only 335 sites have licenses.  There are 647 hotels with 36,236 rooms, 1,996 guesthouses with 28,885 rooms, 688 entertainment venues and 1,844 restaurants across the kingdom.

Cambodia expects to attract around 7 million foreign tourists by 2020 earning an estimated revenue of around USD5 billion and generating some 1 million direct jobs.

The country projects 5.4 million international tourists this year. Last year, the country welcomed 5.1 million visits increasing 5% from 4.77 million in 2015. Overall, tourism revenue declined from USD3.5 billion in 2015, to USD3 billion, or 13% of GDP in 2016.

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