Cambodia is planning an event on October 3 to celebrate the 42nd World Tourism Day, which industry insiders believe will attract many visitors and draw greater international attention to the Kingdom’s tourism potential.

The Ministry of Tourism affirmed in a notice dated September 9 that the event would share the same theme of “Rethinking Tourism” as the official September 27 celebration in Bali, Indonesia – as recognised by the UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) – which alludes to the global post-Covid-19 changes and trends in tourism.

In regards to the later October 3 date, the ministry merely commented that each UNWTO member country would celebrate the day at and with an “appropriate time and event”, without elaborating further.

Cambodia Association of Travel Agents adviser Ho Vandy told The Post on September 13 that each new event that the Kingdom organises or collaborates on can be turned into a positive opportunity to publicise Cambodian tourism around the world and generally make the country more recognisable.

He said that the Cambodian tourism sector is slowly recovering, with sightseers gradually returning – albeit mostly from neighbouring countries and in families or small groups – after dropping to “almost zero” during the 2020-2021 period at the height of Covid.

Barring another unforeseen global catastrophe, international visitors to Cambodia will increase to the tourism ministry’s forecasted range of 1.5-to-two million for full-year 2022, Vandy predicted, reiterating that the Kingdom has “great tourism potential”.

Angkor Tourist Guide Association president Khieu Thy said he would like the ministry to organise more such events, stressing that each one benefits tourism-linked businesses.

He voiced hope that next month’s World Tourism Day celebration will help bring in more foreign holidaymakers to Cambodia, commenting that the Kingdom in October usually sees a relatively high volume of travel.

Siem Reap province now receives 500-700 foreign tourists daily, although usually in small groups, he said, sharing that he has personally been booked by five different parties next month for guided tours.

Ministry figures show that Cambodia welcomed 998,272 international arrivals in the first eight months of 2022, marking a 720 per cent rise year-on-year, albeit a 77 per cent drop from the same period in 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. August accounted for 25.53 per cent with 254,813, up 7.65 per cent over July (236,697), which saw a 44.95 per cent jump from June (163,298).

If the number of international visitors for each remaining month this year is equal to or greater than the August figure, the full-year total is set to pass the upper bound of the ministry’s two-million target by more than 0.8 per cent.