Tourism Sector Needs Better Marketing, Experts Say

Without a more organized marketing strategy that reaches out to the international community and more competitive package holidays, Cambodia?s tourism sector risks to lose the gains it has made over the past five years, government officials and experts said Wednesday.

According to figures released at the Ministry of Tourism?s annual conference on Wednesday, Cambodia has seen double-digit growth in visitor arrivals between 2004 and 2007. However, in 2008 there was only a modest rise of 5.5 percent due to severe declines in arrivals during the second half of that year.

But despite worldwide tourist arrivals declining by 8 percent for the first tour months of 2009, according to the UN?s World Tourism Organization, Cambodia has seen a decline of just 1.1 percent in international visitors for the first sex months of this year. The month of June has seen a 7.5 percent increase in international visitors ? 140,711 total compared to 130,853 in June last year.

?We must work hand in hand to tackle [challenging] issues and unnecessary barriers [to the tourism sector],? So Mara, secretary of state for the Ministry of Tourism, told the conference. ?It is good that Europeans come to our country, can?t just count on Westerners. We have to look for tourists in the region.?

Mr Mara said that the government?s strategy for the second half of this year and 2010 would be to work closely with the private sector to devise ?dynamic packaging? ? an expression he used for more competitive deals ? and more focused marketing in a range of countries both regionally and internationally.

He also said that the government must work more closely with the private sector to ?lower the price,? ?provide special promotions? and ensure security.

The government is currently advertising its ?Kingdom of Wonder? marketing campaign internationally on the CNN television channel and hopes to increase its expenditure inside regional markets, especially in Vietnam and China.

?We will have to look at the market through Cambodia?s embassies abroad to promote tourism,? said Sam Promonea, secretary of state for the Ministry of Tourism, while speaking at the conference. He added that a direct flight link with the Philippines ? which is currently under negotiation ?, as well as single visa in conjunction with Thailand would add to Cambodia?s potential as a tourism destination.

Beyond the government?s agenda, experts say that the current economic climate as well as increase in access across land and water should prompt the government to analyze the origin and budgets of tourists coming to the area and Cambodia.

Lionel Requillart, CEO of Siem Reap-based Artisans Angkor, a professional training school founded to help young Cambodians rediscover traditional handicrafts, said his company was the city?s second most visited site after the world-famous temples of Angkor.

With more tourists arriving from the Asia-Pacific region, ?Cambodia will have to adapt,? he said.

?We have to try and redevelop our offer as visitors are coming with different budgets, different languages and different tastes,? he said, adding that the government should not become too dependant on attractions like Angkor Wat.

?People don?t want to see loads of people blocking the view of the temple. The government should try and develop other temples in the area,? he said.

According to the Ministry of Tourism?s first semester report, visitor arrivals from Vietnam have increased by more than 40 percent to 147,721 between January and June, meaning Vietnam has overtaken South Korea as Cambodia?s leading market for visitor arrivals.

Likewise, visitors from Laos have risen by 142 percent to 52,153, more than those arriving from either France or Australia.

Due to political instability in Thailand, tourist arrivals from the country have dropped by some 24.6 percent to just over 50,000. Visitors from South Korea have decreased by 34 percent to 106,345, while visitors form the US, United Kingdom and France have seen modest gains.

According to Luu Meng, president of the Cambodia Hotel Association, a rise in regional tourism does not necessarily mean a decline in the budgets of the tourists visiting the area.

?If we have a good enough [marketing campaign] and look into the right part of the market in Vietnam and Laos and other Asian countries we can bring the right people to Cambodia. They have all different levels of customers,? he said. ?You can not say they are poor customers.?

Kong Sopheareak, director of the statistics department for the Ministry of Tourism, said most people coming to visit Cambodia are from the Asia-Pacific region. And numbers are bound to increase as access by air increases and borders continue to open up.

?It costs less money to come here for tourists coming from the Asian-Pacific region,? he said. ?Some tourists come to visit Cambodia after they visit Vietnam and continue on to Laos or other countries.?

Sourced = The Cambodia Daily