Tourism Seen as Uneven, Not Yet an Election Issue
By Win Thida, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
13 May 2008
[Editor's note: In the weeks leading into national polls, VOA Khmer
will explore a wide number of election issues. The "Election Issues
2008" series will air stories on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a
related "Hello VOA" guest on Thursday. This is the first in a two-part
series examining the tourism boom.]
Cambodia=92s tourism industry has seen an 18 percent jump since last
year. More than 2 million people visited in 2007, bringing in more
than $1 billion and creating as many as 250,000 jobs.
But the benefits are not balanced, and not even some families living
close to Angkor Wat are reaping the rewards. It remains an open
question how one boon to the economy will play out in July=92s national
election.
=93Most tourism runs to Siem Reap, but not to other provinces,=94 said Pat
Sambo, president of the Association of Tourist Services. =93This means
that the distribution of revenue from the tourism sector is not equal
for everyone.=94
Tourism is the second-leading industry in the country, behind garment
ex****ts, and a great bulk of it is sup****ted by the Angkor temples.
Yet only 20 percent of the people in Siem Reap, at most, earn any
money from toursim, Pat Sambo said.
=93Even though some people live near the tourist sight, they don=92t have
any skills, so they cannot get any benefit,=94 said Koy Sang, director
of Siem Reap=92s department for the Ministry of Tourism.
With the benefit of tourism unequally spread, the Cambodian government
must do more to prepare other destinations, and direct tourists there,
said Moeung Son, president of the Eurasia Travel Agency.
But the need for more tourism development does not seem to be a
political issue yet. No parties have put much tourism into their pre-
campaign rhetoric, many voters saying they are concerned with
inflation over voting.
Meanwhile, observers say with the swift growth of the industry, the
number of people who work directly in the tourism industry may even be
less inclined to vote, as they are preoccupied earning money each day.
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