The Ministry of Tourism announced yesterday a series of competitions aimed at enhancing the quality of tourism services in the Kingdom and widening the country’s tourism offer.
Chea Bora, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Tourism, said during a workshop on tourism held yesterday that the second edition of the ‘Best Resort’ contest and the ‘Best Tourism Community’ competition, which will take place this year for the first time, seek to up standards in the industry.
He said this type of events are necessary to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the tourism industry, such as the presence of large amounts of garbage in cities across the Kingdom.
“There are still many issues that we are facing when it comes to the proper management of tourism sites; garbage disposal is one of the main ones,” Mr Bora said.
Despite challenges like this, he said progress made in the industry in terms of infrastructure development and enhancing tourist safety is undeniable.
Resorts and tourism communities that enter the contests will be rated based on their management practices, environmental footprint, how much information they make available to guests, as well as safety standards and customer satisfaction levels, said Chuk Chumnor, director of the Cultural Tourism and Resorts Department.
Application for both contests is now open and winners will be announced in December. They will earn a certificate attesting to the quality of their services.
Meas Chamnap, chief of the Chi Phat community in Koh Kong, a community-based ecotourism site, said competitions like this encourage communities like his own to try harder and aim higher.
