Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra and Minister of Tourism Huot Hak have jointly promoted and promoted tourism on the international stage to increase the attraction of local and international tourists to visit tourist destinations in Cambodia.
At a ceremony to promote tourism and combat fake news at the Ministry of Information yesterday, Neth Pheaktra said that journalists play an important role in promoting the potential of tourism to the world, which makes countries better understand Cambodia and come to visit Cambodia.
He added that international tourists, when visiting regions around the world, often look for information on the potential of tourist destinations in those countries, including information on security, safety, and comfort, which are attractive to them. Therefore, if there is a lot of positive news about that country, they often come to visit, but if there is a lot of negative news, they will reconsider their visit.
He said that participating in combating fake news is important in promoting tourism in Cambodia, but fake news continues to increase in 2024, which is a current concern. In 2023, there were 3,208 fake news stories published on social media, with between 200 and 300 stories per month.
He claimed that in 2024, there were 3,651 fake news stories, an increase of more than 400 cases compared to 2023, which were falsely published regarding political issues, national security, the economy, and tourism, etc.
Mr. Neth Pheaktra added that fake news includes distorted news, fake news, and misleading news. Distorted and fake news are created with bad intentions by MMO groups who want likes and shares on social media, both of which are the most worrying. As for misleading news, it is caused by unintentional mistakes.
The minister added that journalists and content creators really play an important role in spreading true information on Cambodia’s tourism sector in order to attract more tourists to visit and help the national economy grow more rapidly.
Mr. Huot Hak, Minister of Tourism, said that promoting the potential of tourism in Cambodia requires the participation of all ministries, institutions at the national and sub-national levels, the private sector, and citizens at all levels across the country, which means “everyone is a promoter of Cambodian tourism and against fake news. Tourism for all, all for tourism.”
He added that the Ministry of Tourism has a clear vision to transform the tourism season from Low-Season to Green Season to attract tourists of all seasons to visit Cambodia by adhering to the spirit of cooperation and responsibility.
He said that the Ministry also has a policy to promote the development of regions as well as important tourism destinations in the country, such as Siem Reap Angkor tourism destinations, coastal tourism destinations, and the Northeast tourism destinations, which are beautiful eco-tourism and natural tourism areas of Cambodia.
Mr. Huot Hak stated that: “Currently, human resource development is an important factor that the Ministry of Tourism always pays attention to promoting and developing both human resources and human capital in the tourism sector so that they have clear knowledge and professional skills to meet the needs of the tourism market as well as the needs of socio-economic development in our country.”
The Minister of Tourism called on journalists, ministries, institutions, and all relevant parties to help promote the potential of Cambodia’s tourism sector to the international and global arenas so that international tourists can visit and contribute to improving the economy of citizens across the country.
According to the Ministry of Tourism’s preliminary report on tourism statistics, there were 6.70 million international tourists in 2024, an increase of 22.9% compared to 2023 and an increase of 1.4% compared to 2019. The growth of international tourists in 2024 exceeded the expectations of the Cambodian government. According to the forecast, in 2025, international tourists will increase by around 7 million.
