Ministry of Tourism preparing Integrated Master Plan for Mondulkiri Tourism Development

• Sommana Yan
• 15 May 2020
• Local News
• 5359 Views

The Ministry of Tourism is preparing an Integrated Master Plan for Mondulkiri Tourism Development, which includes Cambodia’s famous “Sea of Forest”, to transform this naturally rich province into a well-known eco-tourism destination for improved economic development in the country and the region which includes building a new Mondulkiri airport.

In a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Study of the Mondulkiri Tourism Development Master Plan in on 11 May 2020, HE Dr. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, mentioned that tourism is an inter-sectoral sector, which must be supported from relevant sectors such as environment, agriculture, culture, water, electricity, modern technology, and many other areas. He noted in particular land use planning for the whole province, infrastructure, and airports.

Mondulkiri, the country’s most north-easterly and natural heritage-endowed province, has around 39 attractive natural locations, Mondulkiri Governor H.E Svay Sam Eang explained in the meeting. Those places include natural waterfalls, indigenous cultural areas, forest, ocean views, wildlife sanctuaries, tourism resorts, canyons and mountains, and diverse plantations that are conducive to agriculture and tourism and can serve the needs of all local people and tourists.

Among these, the “Sea of Forest” tourism development was cheered by H.E. Dr. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, and he encouraged resorts to be potential tourism destinations, by adding trekking tourism and cycling in the woods onto the resort’s existing plans.

Mr. Chum Virak and Ms. Suon Chan Samphors, resort owners, said that if the Royal Government issues a permit, he plans to officially open the resort as a 2020 countdown event as other tourism places are also busy welcoming tourists on this occasion.

In addition, agriculture in the province is a priority after the tourism sector, where organic vegetables, flowers, and fruit can supply the whole province and other parts of the country.

The new airport in Mondulkiri will not only serve as a local airport for transporting fruit, and local tourism products to other provinces, but in the future, it will be used as a regional airport linking Mondulkiri to neighboring tourist destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos as well as other major cities in ASEAN and China.

The draft Tourism Development Master Plan for Mondulkiri could be completed by August 2020, said HE Chouk Chhumnor, Director of the Ministry of Tourism’s Product Development Department, via the Ministry’s official Facebook page.