According to officials, the Cambodia Tourism Board (CTB) has been working hard to attract tourists from Singapore.
Mr. Eth Wijit, CEO of the Cambodia Tourism Board (CTB), made the remarks as the board hosted a programme of travel and agents from the National Association of Travel Agents of Singapore (NATAS) for a business matching event at the Novotel Phnom Penh Hotel in Boeung Keng Kang 1 yesterday.
The event followed a “family tour” where Cambodia’s tourist offerings were introduced to Singaporean tourism industry representatives.
Mr. Eth Wijit said he would like to thank Ms. Melissa Ow, CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board, for facilitating the relationship with NATAS, and “this event has opened a new chapter in the tourism promotion partnership between Cambodia and Singapore, especially in terms of promoting inbound tourism from Singapore.”
“Singaporean tourists are not very familiar with Cambodia, according to our inbound tourism statistics. There were only 45,895 Singaporeans who visited Cambodia in 2024, out of a total of 6.7 million inbound tourists,” he added.
He said CTB is working to diversify the country’s tourism products beyond Angkor Wat. “We aim to double the number of visitors from Singapore in the next two to three years. We have many hidden gems in the country to show the world.”
The CEO also pointed out that Cambodia’s tourism potential is still untapped. “This is the right time as both countries are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.”
Mr. Eth Wijit said that “cultural tourism, adventure tourism and ecotourism” remain the three main components of Cambodia’s tourism sector. “Sustainable tourism is our top priority and we are partnering with the private sector to achieve these sustainable tourism goals.”
He emphasized the complementarity between the tourism sectors of Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand. “We plan to tap our tourism potential across the entire coastline of Cambodia. We already have cruise links with Singapore and we need to establish air links. To this end, we are currently in discussions with Singapore Airlines, Air Cambodia and Cambodia Airways.
“We also plan to sign an agreement with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the agreement is expected to be finalized soon.”
He added that the next ‘family trip’ organised by CTB will be held from March 7 to 11 and representatives from the UK tourism industry will participate, adding that this is due to the cooperation between Singapore Airlines and CTB in hosting the UK delegation.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Mohamed Younes, Undersecretary of State for Tourism, said that such events bring positive results for the country’s tourism sector.
“Cambodia has many needs to become the number one tourist destination for travelers from Singapore. On behalf of the government and the Ministry of Tourism, I would like to commend CTB. We will work together to boost Cambodia’s tourism sector.”
Ms. Elizabeth Khoo, who led the delegation of the National Tourism Agency of Singapore (NATAS) to Cambodia, thanked CTB for organising the family trip.
