Abstract: tourism is considered as a non-smoking industry which plays an important role in development of many economies. Cambodia has an emerging economy with relatively high economy growth and political stability. The recent growth of tourist arrivals indicates that, Phnom Penh is a main potential tourism sites and development in Cambodia. Since the 1990s, the country has undergone economy reforms and transformed to become a market economy with strong support from the international donor community and various organizations. Tourism industry is the third largest sector of the economy after agriculture and the garment industry. It plays as an important role in shaping the country’s political and economic development, poverty reduction, cultural identity, and political legitimacy in a country that used to be better known for land mines, killing fields and turmoil. Cambodian government and the private sectors are the main stakeholders in promoting tourism in the country. After three decades of civil war and armed conflict, Cambodia is reemerging to be a new destination for international tourists from around the world, especially from Asia. Tourist arrivals have increased remarkably to more than two million in 2007 and the number is expected to go up yearly by about 20 to 30 percent. In recent years, in 2012 and 2013, tourist arrivals shifted away from western countries towards Asian ones, partly reflect the rising prosperity in Asia, Europe and others. Vietnam, South Korea, China, Thailand, Japan are the major sources of tourist arrivals to Cambodia. Based on a data of Ministry of Economic and Finance of Cambodia, it's seen that Cambodian economy still continued to gather momentum and remain robust, as a result of tourism development of Cambodian which has a great potential to attract more international tourists, but depends on marketing and promotion strategies by both the government and private sector. The conservation of heritage and cultural remains is important to attract tourists while natural parks need to be developed and maintained. Cambodia tourism can also increase its market share quickly if the country works more closely with its neighboring countries that have cultures, heritages, and tourism objectives in common to promote its destinations. Moreover, its government has to implement an open foreign cooperation to attract foreign and local investment to produce the facilities for tourism destination and development of tourism infrastructure. Tourism products are lacking, because of the visitors continue to grow up year, so all accommodations were not enough to meet the tourists' demand.
Keywords: tourism development, tourism supply, tourism market, tourism site, economic growth, GDP growth.
Title: The Study of Tourism Development and Preference for Tourism Sites in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Author: Pound Chat, Dr. Vijit Supinit
International Journal of Thesis Projects and Dissertations (IJTPD)
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