A business fair has brought together buyers and sellers to promote domestically produced products and revitalize tourism in coastal provinces after two years of Covid-19 economic impacts.

The fair is being held for five days on November 5-9 in Sihanoukville.

Hundreds of booths are showcasing their products at the fair, ranging from foods, services, tourist products and more – most of which were domestically produced.

A vendor who showcased her products at the fair was satisfied with the opportunity to promote her sausages.

She said this is actually the second time she has been able to showcase her products and in the past selling her sausages at the fair has been successful for her.

"I used to receive a lot of support, because the previous time I sold 100 kilos of sausages per day, but for this year, whether I sell much or not, I still thank Preah Sihanouk province for providing this opportunity to promote my products, especially after Covid,” Keo Derya, owner of Mohaleap Sausage, said.

She said she hoped to advertise more products there in the future as a lot of people have visited the booths over the past few days.

Ny Phally, secretary of state at the Ministry of Tourism, presided over the opening of the fair on November 5 and thanked the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for initiating the idea of holding the fair.

“This is an international event to bring together both tourism and food producers. It is an opportunity for buyers and sellers to be able to meet and discuss deals and it is also an opportunity to internationally promote Cambodia's potential in the wake of the Covid crisis,” he said.

He said that Cambodia was ready because although it had been affected somewhat by Covid, it was quicker to recover than its neighbouring countries and he felt that events like this one encouraged businesses and raised the living standards of people by promoting Cambodian products.

In his remarks, Thourn Sinan, head of PATA Cambodia Chapter, welcomed ministry officials and the buyers and vendors from ASEAN member countries.

He said he expected that the fair would have a lot of visitors this year as it is the Water Festival holiday and their presence would help promote the products on display.

“This will make a big contribution to the promotion of international coastal tourism and help promote domestic products to larger markets,” he added.

The 2022 fair to match buyers and sellers on an international level has brought together vendors from eight countries in 700 booths with around 500,000 visitors expected to attend the fair over its five day run.