Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng has brought SAR and Cambodian relations closer with the signing of a ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary to the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region of Social Affairs and Culture of China and the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia’. “Along with investment flow come the technology of products, exchange of ideas and innovation of management,” noted Secretary Alexis Tam per a release by the Institute for Tourism Studies. “On the other hand, tourism boosts growth, creates jobs and extends opportunities in related industries. Therefore, we believe that both investment and tourism illustrate the benefits of international co-operation.” The Secretary made the comments at the Cambodia Investment & Tourism Development Seminar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After the signing in October last year of a memorandum between the local government and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism institute (IFT) was given the goal of establishing the Global Centre for Tourism Education and Training, which will receive a group of 20 Cambodian heritage tour guides and four officials from the APSARA National Authority of Cambodia who will attend a 9-day training programme from June 13 to 21, according to the IFT. Cambodia has initiated a new five-year plan to attract 7.5 million international tourists a year by 2020, including two million Chinese tourists per annum, and approving legislation for foreign investors to enter the local gaming sector as a way of attracting more Mainland Chinese gamblers to the country, Business Daily reported. “Cambodia is an important member of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN connectivity have shared visions and convergence of interests in the region, and Cambodia and Macao stand to gain from this; and I believe tourism can leverage its first-mover advantage to take it into effect,” Secretary Tam stated in the seminar.
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