There's more than casinos on Koh Kong

Monday September 22, 2008
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Bangkok Post

"Mr Thaksin has shown interest in leasing Koh Kong Khrao, an 80 sq km island off Koh Kong, to develop an entertainment complex..."

Thai tourists are being reminded that the Cambodian border province of Koh Kong offers much more than just the casinos for which it is famous.

Mayuda Mang, deputy chief of the Tourism Department of Koh Kong, said at the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) workshop on biodiversity conservation and tourism development in Bangkok that the 11,000 sq km province has a wide variety of tourist attractions.

"Koh Kong is home to the country's largest mangrove areas and we still have several small pristine islands eligible for ecotourism development," said Ms Mayuda.

She said that no matter how volatile relations between the two countries have been in recent months, Koh Kong and the opposite province of Trat have remained on good neighbourly terms.

Trat has sent experts to help Koh Kong villagers preserve mangrove forests, said Ms Mayuda, adding: "We appreciate that cooperation and would like to see deepened collaboration on nature conservation in our country."

However, she conceded that Road No 48, which was jointly opened by then-deputy prime minister Somchai Wongsawat and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, with a bridge linking the Thai border to Koh Kong and on to Phnom Penh, would inevitably attract all kinds of investors, traders and gamblers to Cambodia.

The Thai government gave financial support to build the road.

It takes about one hour to drive from Trat to Koh Kong and another three hours to go on to the capital Phnom Penh.

The owners of the casino projects are Thais and Cambodians and gamblers come not only from Thailand, but also from China and Taiwan, as well as a few locals.

Asked how much progress Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had made in his reported investment in Koh Kong, Ms Mayuda said he had taken 10 interested parties to meet Hun Sen last April, but none of them, including Mr Thaksin, had yet confirmed they had initiated any projects.

"The picture will become clearer after Hun Sen's new government is up and running. Until that time, probably only two or three investors might seriously want to pursue business in Koh Kong," Ms Mayuda said.

Mr Thaksin has shown interest in leasing Koh Kong Khrao, an 80 sq km island off Koh Kong, to develop an entertainment complex, but she did not know how negotiations were progressing.

She also said that a South Korean company had been given a 99-year lease to develop hotel, entertainment and eco-tourism businesses on Koh Yo, another small island off Koh Kong.

And a Kuwaiti investor has pledged US$15 million (511 million baht) to help transform Cambodia into an agro-business hub.

Koh Kong's efforts to lure different kinds of tourists is part of Cambodia's wider strategy to develop the industry nationwide so that the impoverished country will not continue to rely on its top drawing card, Angkor Wat.

Anne-Maria Makela, senior tourism adviser for the Netherlands Development Organisation, said at the workshop that too much focus has been placed on Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, and the country should bring more communities into the tourism picture.

Tourism: The islands of temptation

04 March 2008
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from Khmer by Luc Sâr

About 10 islands were already leased to private companies for tourist development. The government hopes to attract new visitors in this manner, but the protection of the environment should not be put in the back burner.

Two islands offshore of Sihanoukville were recently leased to private companies. Along with these 2 latest islands, the number of leased Cambodian islands and islets amounted to 11. At the end of 2007, six islands were leased to seven private companies. This phenomenon could accelerate: “the development of islands becomes a catalyst for attracting more tourists,” a communiqué dated 28 February 2008, from the Council of Development of Cambodia (CDC) explained. This communiqué was made public during the signing of the latest lease contracts for the two islands offshore of Sihanoukville. The kingdom – which attracted 2 million visitors in 2007, and 3 million are expected to visit in 2008 – seeks in fact to diversify its tourist attractions which, for the moment, is concentrated mainly on the Angkor Temple.

The Royal Group Co. Ltd. Telephone Company, led by Kith Meng, just obtained the lease of the Koh Rong Island. His project to develop an eco-tourist site extending over 7,826-hectare is estimated to cost several million dollars.

With similar objective, the Koh Russey Resort Co. Ltd. (KRRC) Now has access to 76-hectare of the total of 137-hectare of land on Koh Russey Island. KRRC plans to invest $48 million. The two concessions extend over a period of 99-year. Both of the leases underscore the lack of information regarding the upcoming development plan. None of the two investors want to reveal their plan.

Cambodia counts 55 islands altogether. “They attract millionaires who want to settle there,” said Touch Sieng Tana, a member of the committee for economic and cultural observation of the Council of Ministers. However, tourist development of these islands is not simple. “They require experienced investors.”

Moeung Sonn, Director of the Eurasie Travel agency, said that he is in favor of the diversification of tourist zones, but he reminded that the protection of the environment should not be neglected. “Development and conservation must go hand in hand,” he suggested. The CDC also adopts the same attitude. “The investment zone and the protected zone must be separate from each other, deforestation must be avoided.” Furthermore, these areas should not be filled nor built with concrete everywhere, otherwise, the tourists will flee from these so-called eco-tourist zones.