Sep
27
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Training needed for tourist industry
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Representatives of Cambodia’s booming tourism industry yesterday called on the Asian Development Bank to provide funding for workforce training in the sector.
During the meeting at the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, tour operator Ho Vandy, who also co-chairs the Tourism Working Group in the Government-Private Sector Forum, said representatives of various tourism-related associations had asked the ADB for help in technical and vocational education and training.
He said that by 2015, all ASEAN countries would be part of one community, which would cause increased competition, and human resources were the main factor in addressing this competition.
“We propose professional training and real skills for tourism-related business.”
Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said training was important because Cambodian university courses had not yet met the needs of tourism services.
Education specialist Swetal Sindhvad, of the Asian Development Bank, said that although the ADB had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Economy and Finance Ministry that focused on workforce training designed to respond to the need for skilled labour in the private sector, the ADB had not set a budget or given priority to any particular sectors.
“We are trying to identify what is the area of the project, and then we will work with the government on the amounts,” Sindhvad said.
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Sep
27
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Heed the call of Cambodia
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CAMBODIA is emerging as the newest Asian hot spot for Australian travellers, with a 44 per cent rise in the number of Australian visitors in July, compared with the same month last year.
And Japan is bouncing back following last year's earthquake and tsunami, with numbers also increasing by 44 per cent in July.
Visitors to India rose by 16 per cent, followed by China (up 10 per cent), Singapore (9 per cent) and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam (8 per cent), Australian Bureau of Statistics arrivals and departures figures show.
But, overall, Australia's love affair with Bali continues, with Indonesia still the most popular destination, followed by Thailand.
APT sales manager Scott Ellis says travellers are heading to Cambodia because it isn't as commercialised as other parts of Asia.
"Our clients are wanting to go and experience the region before it does get commercialised," Ellis says.
"Over the last few years, Vietnam has got a lot more popular and Cambodia seems to be following on from there," he says.
"Laos will be next - we're doing a few tours that go to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos now."
APT sponsors an orphanage in Siem Reap in Cambodia and Ellis says guests love visiting the nearby school and interacting with the children.
"People are loving that responsible side of travel."
He says sales to China have also almost doubled this year as more airlines fly there from Australia.
"I think people want to go and have a bit of a history lesson."
Helen Wong's Tours has also seen interest in tours combining Cambodia and Vietnam soar, with its 15-day Angkor and Vietnam Discovery Tour rising about 50 per cent over the past year.
Its 12-day Glimpse of Vietnam is the company's most popular itinerary, but it has also seen a 25 per cent rise in sales for its 17-day Best of Vietnam tour, which includes a train journey to mountainous Sapa in the north, as well as visits to Halong Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An and the Mekong Delta.
Accor senior vice-president Paul Richardson says Australians are looking beyond Shanghai and Beijing in China and turning their attention to emerging regional and resort destinations.
The company opened the 5-star Pullman in Lijiang in northwestern China's Yunnan province last year, a popular area for tourists on their second or third trip to China.
"With narrow, cobbled streets, traditional wooden houses and canals, the city is a charming base," Richardson says.
"In nearby areas there are spectacular waterfalls, trekking, Tiger Leaping Gorge and a therapeutic poolside open space."
Travel Indochina says more people are booking specialty tours, such as culinary, cycling and family tours or to newer destinations such as Bhutan and Mongolia, especially around festivals and events.
The company has a new tour to the little-known mountainous region of Ha Giang in Vietnam.
Trafalgar is introducing Asia into its portfolio from next April, with guided holidays to China, Japan and Vietnam.
"We know that Asia is perennially popular with Australian travellers ... hence we have responded to consumer demand by introducing the inimitable Trafalgar difference to the region," Trafalgar managing director Matthew Cameron-Smith says.
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Sep
27
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Highlights of Cambodia
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Cambodia is officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and is located in the south of the Indochina Peninsula and in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a natural gateway to Laos, Thailand, Indochina, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Its shape and geography divide it into four natural regions: the mountains and forests in the North, the vast rice fields of the Central Plains, the semi-arid farm lands of the Northeast plateau, and the tropical islands and long coastline of the peninsula in the South.
After many years of isolation and civil war, Cambodia opened to tourists in the mid-1990s and the country expects to receive more than three million visitors in 2012.
Cambodia's primary tourist destinations are Angkor Wat and the other temples of Angkor near Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and the beaches of Sihanoukville.
Other new destinations such as the hill tribe areas of Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri, the remote temples of Preah Vihear and Banteay Chhmar, and quaint provincial capitals such as Battambang, Kampot and Kep, are just now being discovered by travelers, and all offer the unique experience of ‘unspoiled' Cambodia.
Things to do:
Angkor Wat, which took over 400 years to complete, covers an area of more than 400 square kilometers. It is the world's largest religious building, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Enjoy the spectacular sunset from the Phnom Bakheng Temple, as well as elephant cruising.
Discover Phnom Penh, the Royal Palace, the National Museum, Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields.
Receive a water blessing from a Buddhist monk at the beautiful Tep Pranamm Pagoda inside Angkor Thom.
Get off the beaten path at Sambour Prei Kuk, one of the lesser-visited temples.
Cruise past the magnificen.t floating villages lit by the warm glow of the evening sun on Tonle Sap Lake.
Explore deserted French beach villas in Kep or eat fresh seafood at Cambodia's favorite beach destination, Sihanoukville.
Visit Preah Vihear, a World Heritage Site.
A one day excursion to Phnom Kulen, which is widely regarded as the birthplace of ancient Khmer Empire.
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Japanese artists come to town
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27/09/2012 10:31:22
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Japanese artists come to town
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27/09/2012 10:15:13
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Japanese artists come to town
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27/09/2012 10:07:54
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Contemporary dance plays in Hanoi at weekend
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27/09/2012 10:04:56
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2,000 items at Big C Beauty Fair
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27/09/2012 09:48:35
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Unilever, PSI to help nation’s sanitary behavior
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27/09/2012 09:43:44
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Hung Yen’s unique Ban soy sauce village
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27/09/2012 09:41:23
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Mid-Autumn Festival at Crescent Mall
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27/09/2012 09:35:36
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Capital creativity at PechaKucha Night
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27/09/2012 09:28:04
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