Siem Reap is of course benefitting in all aspects of the service industry. Apart from hotel numbers being up, the bars and restaurants are all reporting a record year. Holiday makers are taking advantage of the relatively inexpensive prices. Tourists from places like Bangkok are surprise that they find themselves able to enjoy 4 or 5 beers for the price of one in Thailand’s capital.
Cambodia, often seen in the past as merely a backpacker destination, is seeing huge increases in luxury holiday packages. The new hotels springing up everywhere are all of a higher standard than those previously available. The International Monetary Fund has forecast that the gross domestic product of Cambodian will, this year, grow, by 6.7% mainly on the back of thriving building and agriculture sectors. The Asia bank are even more optimistic, forecasting 7%. Cambodia last year received more foreign investment per capita than China, a statistic that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
Bokor National Parks is shrouded in cloud and mystery in the hills just a few miles away from Sihanoukville. Once considered a retreat for the rich and famous it has grown massively in popularity in recent years. Abandoned after the Cambodian war it fell into ruin. Now however investment and forestry management have now turned it once again into a popular haunt. At the same time Sihanoukville and the nearby French colonial towns of Kampot and Kep are drawing huge tourist numbers. Sihanoukville has probably seen more investment than any other Cambodia tour destination in recent years. Millions of dollars of Chinese and Russian investment have turned this once sleepy little village into the country’s premier seaside resort.
All this investment and new build is now reaping huge rewards for the Cambodian tourist industry. Mr Tran Truong CEO of Asia Tour Advisor, seems even more upbeat, “ Cambodia is the big winner in Southeast Asian travel destinations at the moment. It’s rapid rise to one of Asia’s travel hot spots is not really surprising. After all it is incredibly beautiful country and has all the added benefits that the world’s finest and largest religious site brings. Angkor Wat’s importance cannot be overstressed. People travel from the other side of the world to see this wonder, now they can do so whilst staying in five star comfort.”
The future looks bright for this fascinating country.
