Tourists enjoy the golden sands of a beach near Sihanoukville town. Post staff
To attract more domestic and international tourists to its beaches and islands, the Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities will organise a photography and video contest at the end of January, with the theme “Each of Us is a Tourism Promoter for Us”.
According to a January 6 statement from the provincial Department of Tourism, with the collaboration and support of the Ministry of Tourism and the provincial administration, the department will also organise a cultural and commercial tourism fair from January 27-31, at Techo Ground. The event will feature various activities in addition to the exhibition, including food displays, commercial product displays, cultural performances and sports competitions.
The statement explained that the purpose of the video and photography contest is to select candidates with outstanding talent, particularly in promoting the attractiveness and tourism potential of the province.
It added that the competition is open to images and videos that promote the province’s tourist destinations in a creative way.
Attractive imagery and videos that encourage and enhance the promotion of Cambodian products, tourism communities, educational messages, or raise public awareness about the tourism potential of coastal areas, should be submitted.
Registration for the event will be open until January 12, 2025, through an online system or in person.
Thourn Sinan, president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia, told The Post on January 6 that promotional events (except those related to alcoholic beverages and certain drinks) generate profits for tourism destinations and attract more investors to Cambodia.
He believed the photography and video exhibition would be an effective way of promoting the beauty of the coastal regions.
“Such events are crucial. They are important for raising global awareness about Cambodia and serve as a means of encouraging domestic and international tourists to visit more frequently. Global promotion will bring great benefits to the tourism industry and contribute to Cambodia’s economic growth,” he said.
He added that if authorities in other provinces could organise similar exhibitions, the promotional flow would be even more enhanced.
The number of domestic and international tourists visiting various destinations in Cambodia has shown a continuous increase, especially during the New Year holidays from December 30-31, 2024. More than 3.53 million people travelled nationwide, 3.48 million of them Cambodian, along with 47,260 international guests. Preah Sihanouk welcomed a total of 422,829 tourists.
In the first 11 months of 2024, approximately 6 million international guests were welcomed into the Kingdom, a 22% increase over the same period in 2023. Thai nationals made up the largest group, at 1.91 million, while 1.2 million Vietnamese visited.
An industry insider told The Post that changes in data collection methods have significantly boosted the recorded number of visitors from Thailand and Vietnam.
He said that unlike in the past, when only leisure travellers were counted, current statistics include all international entries, including those crossing for gambling or other activities in border areas.
The next largest sources of arrivals were China and Laos, followed by the US, South Korea Indonesia and France.
