Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said that Cambodia is always ready to welcome and provide good hospitality to Japanese investors and tourists.
The remark came during the inauguration of a new Japanese restaurant in Phnom Penh on Saturday night, attended by the Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, Mikami Masahiro.
Khon said that Cambodia is a close friend of Japan and always welcomes Japanese investment, especially in the tourism sector.
“Cambodia has a lot of potential and it is favourable for tourist investors, especially who want to invest in eco-tourism, agro-tourism and rural tourism,” he said.
Khon said there are numerous Japanese investors in the tourism sector, including the owners of hotels, restaurants and supermarkets and they have always shown confidence when investing in Cambodia.
“Currently COVID-19 is under control in Cambodia and patients are recovering, under the guidance of the government and the Ministry of Health,” he said.
Japanese ambassador Mikami Masahiro said at the event that Cambodia is developing rapidly, especially Phnom Penh.
“As Cambodia has developed, the popularity of Japanese food has also increased, with about 300 Japanese restaurants now operating in Cambodia,” he said.
In 2019, Cambodia received 207,636 Japanese tourists.
Khon also said that the ministry has been planning to restore and promote tourism in Cambodia post-pandemic through a three phase strategy.
“Phase one is the ‘Resilient and Restart’ stage, where we will crisis manage in the new normal plan our recovery from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2021,” he said.
“Phase two will be the recovery stage, where we will promote the recovery of the tourism sector post-crisis, which is due to last from the second half of 2021 to 2022,” he said.
“Phase three will be the the relaunch stage, where preparations towards the new future of Cambodia’s tourism sector will take place, which is due to take place from between 2023 and 2025,” he added.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
