Cambodia is hosting the 2023 Mekong Tourism Forum from April 24-28 in Preah Sihanouk, one of the country’s four coastal provinces, giving floor to relevant stakeholders and Mekong riparian countries to discuss the recovery of safe and sustainable tourism in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Themed “Rethinking for Resilience and Digitalisation”, the Mekong Tourism Forum 2023 was held at the Independence Hotel, Sihanoukville with the participation of more than 250 delegates form 19 countries.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony this morning, H.E. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, expressed his pleasure and honour to warmly welcome the presence of delegates and guests from 19 countries to the Mekong Tourism Forum 2023.
“This forum is a comprehensive cooperation forum of GMS between the government, policy makers, institutes, experts, relevant authorities, stakeholders, private and public sector in the tourism industry to discuss and share best practices, experiences, situations of tourism development, marketing study and tourism promotion in the GMS area,” he said.
The Cambodian tourism minister expressed the expectation that key stakeholders from the public and private sectors will create a unique opportunity to promote innovative and collaborative frameworks for the recovery of tourism towards Persevere in the post-crisis era of Covid-19 and bring back what was lost in tourism, especially business and tourism revenue.
In 2022, Cambodia received more than 2.28 million international tourists, including 1.5 million from GMS countries, earning about US$1.415 billion. The Kingdom also recorded nearly 14 million domestic tourists, generating some US$650 million.
The main agenda of the Mekong Tourism Forum 2023 is planned to be presented by international experts on two topics, including: Rethinking Tourism – a pathway for building back better and stronger and Rethinking Food System – a lever to protect the planet.
The Mekong Tourism Forum is a programme within the framework of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation, focusing on strengthening and promoting public-private partnerships (PPP) in the field of tourism, aiming to develop products and the promoting of the Greater Mekong Subregion to become a common destination and provide a new and unique experience for tourists.
