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Cultural
events will come thick and fast for tourists and
visitors to the kingdom from now until the first
month of next year, according to the Ministry of
Culture and Fine Arts Culture Development Department
and National Cultural Center (NCC) director, Mr
Dek Sarin.
He said the NCC, located opposite the Buddhist Institute
and south of the Hotel Cambodiana Phnom Penh, was
fully booked and the ministry was very excited about
the line-up it is scheduled to provide.
On September 7, there will be a ceremony to honor
Neak Ta Klaing Moeurng, the spirit of the famous
late 16th century Khmer commander. The event will
be held at the National Cultural Center.
The 80th Birthday of His Majesty King Sihanouk (October
31), which coincides with Water Festival (from October
29 to November 1), will see the first taing tok
(table display) since 1995 held at the site. A taing
tok is a sort of provincial and municipal trade
fair, where each of the 24 provinces, Phnom Penh
municipality and selected private companies display
their prime produce.
The taing tok is being organized by the ministry's
Culture Development Department.
The Fifth Annual Kite Flying Contest will be held
on November 30, bringing together Cambodia's most
skilled kite makers. Cambodia is world famous for
its kites, especially its musical kites.
December 7 sees the Memorial Day of Grand Poet Kram
Ngoy, a famous 19th century Khmer poet.
The Khmer Fashion Show, originally scheduled for
August 24, has been rescheduled by the ministry
and will now take place on December 24.
The Third Annual Khmer Food Contest, the Photographic
Art Contest (featuring photos and artistic works
from Khmer contestants, professional and amateur,
nationwide) and the Khmer Martial Arts Show will
all take place on January 12, 2002.
More details are available on request from the front
office of the NCC. |
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Two major
government bodies will work together to make Phnom
Penh a more beautiful city, according to their respective
chiefs.
The Municipality of Phnom Penh and the Ministry
of Tourism said this month that they would work
together to beautify the city in preparation for
the ASEAN Tourism Forum scheduled for 2003.
During a July 9 inspection of the municipal tourism
development worksite, across the river from the
Royal Palace, Governor Chea Sophara said that the
municipality wanted to clean up the city and turn
the riverside Tonle Sap area into a tourist park.
Minister of Tourism, Veng Sereyvuth, also issued
a statement stressing a commitment to cooperation
between his institution and the municipality in
anticipation of the large numbers of international
guests expected in Phnom Penh for the conference,
which is expected to last about 10 days.
Chea Sophara said the city has land but no money
for construction so the Ministry of Tourism has
said it will use its funds to build a tourist center.
The building is expected to cover about 9,000 square
meters and include 450 exhibition booths, a large
meeting hall, boardrooms and office space.
Cultural tourism talks
Foreign partnerships and investment and human resources
will be two key areas to develop in the lead-up
to the
ASEAN Tourism Forum and Visit Cambodia Year in 2003,
according to Cambodian and international tourism
experts.
Government officials involved with tourism met in
a national seminar on cultural tourism at the Royal
School of Administration on July 3 to share positive
experiences and comment on tourism at both local
and international levels.
Seminar participants included senior officials from
the National Tourism Authorities, the Ministries
of Tourism, Culture and Fine Arts and Environment,
experts and consultants from UNESCO and World Tourism
Organization, professional tourism bodies from Lebanon,
Tunisia, and France, and representatives of travel
and tour agencies in Cambodia.
The seminar was organized by the Cambodian National
Commission for UNESCO and jointly sponsored by the
Apsara Authority and the UNESCO Office in Cambodia.
Participants discussed measures to prepare the country
to cope with the current tourism boom, with tourist
numbers expected to continue to rise by up to 30
per cent annually.
Cambodia's most pressing tourism commitments are
the upcoming ASEAN Tourism Forum and Visit Cambodia
Year 2003.
Major topics included management strategies for
the Angkor complex, among other tourist destinations,
and ways to improve basic tourism infrastructure
while ensuring the country's sustainable cultural
and natural development.
Recommendations included a speedy reinforcement
of local roads leading from tourist destinations
to the national highways, a sound management of
profits generated in order to ensure sustainable
development, development of master plans for the
management of each attraction, and the launch of
a program to raise awareness of tourism values and
conservation issues among local people.
Participants also urged the government to involve
foreign investors in feasible projects, increase
human resource training programs, adopt and develop
more tourism draft laws and regulations, and look
at strategies to promote eco-tourism. |
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Busy
Month For State Visits
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Not one
but two important international figures toured Cambodia's
major historical and cultural sites in July.
A delegation from the Democratic Peoples Republic
of Korea, headed by Mr Kim Yong Nam, President of
the Presidium of the Supreme Peoples Assembly, enjoyed
an audience with King Sihanouk before touring the
National Museum and Silver Pagoda and viewing a
performance by the Royal Ballet. They also flew
to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat and the Bayon temple.
Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and 20 of her
students also included Cambodia in their two-day
official visit to Cambodia, which began on July
15.
The princess, who is the third child of the King
and Queen of Thailand is Director of History at
Chulachumklae Royal Military Academy in Bangkok.
The Cambodian leg of the delegation's tour included
the temples of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Phimean Akas
in Siem Reap province, and the National Museum,
the Tuol Sleng Museum and Psar Thom Thmei Market
in Phnom Penh.
The princess is a regular traveler to Cambodia.
In May this year the princess visited Prasat Koh
Ker in Preah Vihear province.
In February she headed a 60-member entourage, which
traveled to the Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap province. |
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Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
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