By Zhang Zhiwen

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Joint Efforts to Develop Cambodian Tourism

By Zhang Zhiwen

Cambodian artists in national dress with tourists at Angkor Wat Temple

it is very hot in the Indo-China Peninsula in April， but celebrations of Cambodia’s New Year， which falls on April 13 each year， must go on. This year， celebrations of the Fourth Angkor Songkran Festival at the Angkor Archaeological Park-a world cultural heritage site-kicked oth great energy.

Cultural Relics Boost Tourism Development

Located in Siem Reap， over 300 km northwest of Phnom Penh， the capital of Cambodia，Angkor Archaeological Park is mainly composed of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat，Cambodia’s two most famous ancient sites. It was recognized by the UN’s World Heritage List in 1992 because of its unique architecture，religious and cultural remains.

The combination of tangible and intangible cultural heritage makes the Angkor Songkran Festival a magnet for tourists. It is estimated that more than 1 million tourists participated in the activities of the Angkor Songkran Festival this year. The spokesman of the organizing committee of the Angkor Songkran Festival， Som Ratana， said that to help tourists from across the world better experience the Cambodian New Year， the organizing committee specially arranged for 3，444 young volunteers to participate in the preparation.

Since being added to the World Heritage List in 1992， the Angkor Archaeological Park，a treasure house of Cambodian art built in the 12th century， has received worldwide attention. All the architecture in this part of the world had fallen into disrepair from wind and rain erosion as well as a lack of maintenance when it was discovered. In order to protect the cultural heritage， which belongs to all mankind， many countries， including China， lent their hands to Cambodia in the restoration.

At the Angkor Songkran Festival， a special exhibition hall was built to commemorate the joint ethorts by various countries in protectingthe historical remains in Angkor. According to the exchibition， China spent nearly ten years helping restore the Chau Say Tevoda.

In 1997， a Chinese team began to investigate the temple ruins and chose to repair the Chau Say Tevoda. that was the first time for China to participate in a major historical preservation project on the international stage. The restoration started in March 2000. With six years of hard work， Chinese experts successfully put historical components， scattered across the site， back into place， returning the ancient building to its former glory.

In addition， China has a satellite guarding this time-honored cultural heritage site. In 2013， the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth （RADI） under the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， the International Center on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the Auspices of UNESCO and Cambodia’s Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of SiemReap （APSARA） signed a memorandum of understanding to monitor the historical remains in Angkor and the surrounding environment with satellite remote sensing technology. China not only helped install the virtual satellite ground station to receive and share data， but also othered technological training to assist the Cambodian government in efforts to understand the information on potential natural disasters and human damage， thereby protecting this world cultural heritage site.

“China helped Cambodia repair the historical site in Angkor， a concrete cooperation project in cultural heritage preservation and development between the two countries，vividly reflecting their brotherly friendship，”said Thong Khon， Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism， adding that in addition to participating in the restoration of cultural relics，China also did a great deal to help Cambodia promote the construction of tourism infrastructure.

Thanks to the export buyer’s credit of China， Cambodia began to expand its No. 6 Highway in 2013. The highway， which connects Phnom Penh with Siem Reap， is one of the most important and busiest traffic lines in the country.

“After the expansion of the highway，the travel time between the two cities has been reduced from nearly eight hours to five hours. That provides great opportunities for Cambodian tourism development，including the Angkor Archaeological Park，” said Fukae Fujio， an adviser of Marketing & Promotion Department of Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism.

Chinese Tourists Welcome to Cambodia

China became the biggest source of tourists for the Angkor Archaeological Park in the first half of 2015. Strolling through the Angkor Songkran Festival， one can meet Chinese tourists at any time. A woman from Guangdong Province named Wang was traveling in Cambodia with her family in a package tour. In front of the Angkor Wat， she said she was deeply impressed by Cambodia， posting her photos to social media.

“China is really a big market. Cambodia saw about 700，000 Chinese tourists last year. This figure is expected to reach 2 million in 2020，” said Thong Khon， adding that vigorously tapping the overseas tourism market is a major measure adopted by the country to push forward the development of tourism. Currently， 77 percent of foreign visitors in Cambodia come from the Asia-Pacific region，and a large percentage of those are from China.

Tourism is the second pillar industry of Cambodia. According to thong Khon， tourism created 600，000 jobs and a revenue of US$30 billion for the country last year.

“these are really considerable numbers，”Thong Khon said.“Cambodia is rich in both cultural and natural resources. Sustainable development is very important for us.”

The Cambodian government is now working hard to promote the development and preservation of tourism resources in a bid to help more people to share benefits， shake oth poverty and increase income.

At present， Cambodia is stepping up its efforts in infrastructure construction to attract more Chinese tourists. The expanded Siem Reap Airport is clean， orderly and features Chinese-language signs. Hotels in Siem Reap have also been equipped with Chineselanguage signs.

Cambodia sets a great example in Chinese language training. Yang， from Shanghai， chose Siem Reap as the first stop during her trip in Southeast Asia. She said many people working in Siem Reap’s tourism industry can speak Chinese， which made her travel much easier.

“I hope that more Chinese investors can turn their eyes to the tourism industry in Cambodia，” said Thong Khon， adding that Cambodia is considering easing the visa issuance process for Chinese tourists so as to attract more Chinese tourists to the country.

The Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap， Cambodia， the largest religious monument in the world， built for the Khmer Empire in the early 12th century