China gives nod to local tour operators

The Chinese Ministry of Tourism last week approved more than a dozen Cambodian tour operators that will now be able to partner up with Chinese companies to promote Cambodia in China.

The approval of the local companies by the Chinese ministry is part of efforts to strengthen tourism cooperation between the countries, the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism said in a Facebook post.

“China has initially recognised 13 tour agents after having evaluated them based on its accreditation system. This system is used to ensure companies can meet quality standards necessary to serve Chinese tourists and qualify to partner with Chinese companies,” the ministry said.

The announcement was made by Chinese Minister of Tourism Luo Shugang during a meeting last Friday in Beijing with his Cambodian counterpart Thong Khon.

During the meeting, the Chinese Ministry of Tourism and Culture pledged to support the activities of Cambodian travel agencies promoting the Kingdom’s tourism offer in China.

“The Chinese market is the biggest tourism market for Cambodia, as well as for the world, so through partnerships with Chinese firms, we hope to increase the number of Chinese tourists in Cambodia,” said ministry spokesman Top Sopheak

“We have hundreds of tour agents, but not all of them operate under satisfactory quality standards.

“The Chinese ministry and other relevant institutions must inspect them to ensure they are up to par,” Mr Sopheak said, adding that Cambodian and Chinese tour agents can learn a lot from each other.