Cambodia applies for coastline award to promote tourism

June 14 2010
Source: Xinhua

Cambodia expects to include its coastal areas in the Club of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World next year in order to attract more tourists to the Cambodia's coastal areas, local media reported on Monday, citing Tourism Minister Thong Khon.

The Tourism Ministry submitted the document of the Cambodia's 450 km coastal areas stretching in four provinces of Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep to list with the Club in early May, 2010 during the Club's 6th world congress in Halong Bay, Vietnam, said the minister at a meeting held in Preah Sihanouk province late last week, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

"Natural resources at our coastal lines have been preserved well, so we hope our coastal areas will be listed among the world's most beautiful bays next year in the 7th annual meeting of the Club," Thong Khon was quoted as saying. "When it gains the status, it would help to attract more tourists to the areas, which are a potential to develop the nation's economy."

Cambodia's coastal area is the second most popular destination for tourists after Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province. Cambodia received 2.16 million foreign tourists last year, but only 7 percent or 154,500 visited the coastal areas.

According to the Club's criteria, to be listed as the world's most beautiful bay, a bay must be under the protection project, an attractively natural area, recognized both local and regional level, a potential for economy development and recognized by UNESCO.

Advantages receives from the membership is information exchanges and boost the promotion of the potential in the coastal areas on international market.

Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodian Association on Travel Agents, was quoted as saying that if Cambodia's coastline was recognized by the Club, the country would be able to increase tourist numbers by 50 percent over the next five years.

The Club was established in March 1997, in Berlin, Germany, so far, 22 countries as members with 30 bays have been recognized as the most beautiful bays in the world.

Kep hastens Cambodia's coastal tourism revival

Tue, 31 Mar 2009
DPA

Kep, Cambodia - In Cambodia, where a decade-long tourism boom has been driven almost entirely by safe and easy access to the ancient Angkor Wat temples, the rebirth of a seaside resort town is helping to lure visitors to country's long-neglected coastline. The sleepy town of Kep on the south-east coast has been earmarked as Cambodia's first boutique tourism destination, but for now it bares few of the characteristics of the countless backpacker Meccas and resorts scattered throughout South-East Asia.

Tourist numbers have surged in recent years, but this town of just a few thousand people has maintained its unhurried, pastoral character. Unlike Sihanoukville, a lively huddle of guesthouses, bars and nightclubs on the central coast, Kep seems to be taking a relaxed path towards developing its tourism sector.

But with its alluringly lush rainforests, crystalline waters and bountiful seafood, Kep is finding that the tourists don't need much encouragement. A three-hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh, Kep has become a favorite weekend retreat for expatriates and Cambodia's burgeoning middle class.

The town is only 20 minutes from a recently opened Vietnamese border crossing, making it a perfect place to say hello or goodbye to Cambodia.

"They told us to expect fewer tourists in Cambodia this year," a local taxi driver says. "But more and more come here every week, to see the mountains and the caves, and of course, to eat."

Kep's famous crabs were among the many treasures that helped the town become playground for Cambodia's French rulers in the early 20th century. Along with former king and independence leader Norodom Sihanouk, the French elite built dozens of mansions in the hills along the coastline and sailed their yachts in the calm, protected waters in the Gulf of Thailand.

But like many regions in Cambodia, Kep was ravaged by the United States' secret bombing campaign during the Indochinese War and was forcibly evacuated during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1975 rule. The ultra-communist group considered the town a symbol of bourgeois hedonism and colonial oppression, and destroyed most of its infrastructure.

Kep lay dormant for more than a decade, and the scars of its troubled past are still visible among the poor local population and neglected amenities. The seaside villas left standing have become overgrown with vines and tree trunks, and now only the smallest of fishing boats can dock in the once-bustling port.

But Kep's striking beauty has not paled despite years of conflict, neglect and civil war. Guesthouses and hotels catering to all budgets have been built along the coast, including the exclusive Knai Banh Chatt hotel, which boasts views of the imposing Bokor Mountain from its infinity pool.

While the town has no beach and is separated from the sea by a strip of coarse red stones, a cheap 30 minute boat ride to Koh Thonsay - known as Rabbit Island - reveals one of Cambodia's unspoilt, pristine beaches. Budget accommodation is compulsory, as

the island's only available beds are housed in palm-wood bungalows, which can be rented for between 7 and 10 dollars per night.

The bungalows' power generators are switched off a 10 pm, and as the fluorescent lights along the beach fade, a spectacular night sky is revealed.

But Kep's greatest attraction may well be the variety of seafood on offer in the restaurants and stalls downtown. Crabs cooked with local pepper sell for between 3 and 10 dollars and grilled fish on skewers cost less than 5 dollars. For the more adventurous, or rather less eco-conscious, gilled seahorse is also available.

Driving past the various building sites, road workers and bulldozers on the road out of town, one gets the impression that the place is on the verge of a tourism storm. A good road now runs straight to the nearby riverside town of Kampot, which is enjoying its own tourism rebirth, and there are signs of a coastal tourism trail emerging. So as travellers look for cheaper tropical escapes in South-East Asia, now might be the time to experience Kep and beat the rush.