Cambodia, Zimbabwe to Foster Tourism Cooperation

Phnom Penh, August 18, 2023 --Cambodia and Zimbabwe are committed to fostering their tourism cooperation, especially on cultural tourism and ecotourism development.

The commitment was made in a meeting between H.E. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism and H.E. Mrs. Constance Chemwati, Malaysia-based Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Cambodia here in Phnom Penh on Aug. 17.

H.E. Thong Khon underlined the potential of Cambodia's tourism, particularly that of cultural and natural tourism; as well as the country's peace, stability and development which have attracted more and more international investors and visitors to the Kingdom.

The Royal Government has put forth policies to promote ecotourism, said the minister, adding that during the COVID-19 crisis, ecotourism played a key role in boosting the domestic tourism growth.

H.E. Mrs. Constance Chemwati noticed the rapid recovery of Cambodian tourism after the COVID-19 crisis, and suggested a cooperation in boosting tourist flows between the two countries and from the third country.

Cambodia is a leading country in ASEAN investing heavily in tourism skill training for youth, she emphasised, proposing the exchange of tourism human resources between both nations and in the ASEAN region.

Both sides agreed to draft a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation to serve as a roadmap for the implementation of joint action plan and to further their discussions during the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organsation (UNWTO) in Uzbekistan later this year.

According to H.E. Thong Khon, Cambodia received more than 3 million foreign tourists during the first seven months of 2023, and the figure is expected to rise to some 5 million by the year end.