Hoteliers Are Warming Up to Phnom Penh

Compared to the bustling tourist center of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh has long stood in second place as an investment destination for international hotel operations. But as infrastructure slowly improves and the number of visitors to the capital continues to grow, international hotel chains are taking a second look at potential opportunities in Phnom Penh. … While Siem Reap has long been the main tourist destination in Cambodia, the number of foreign visitors to Phnom Penh and other cities in the country has increased by nearly a third between 2012 and 2013, while those visiting to Siem Reap grew by 8.1 percent. The hotel industry is waking up to Phnom Penh’s increasing popularity among tourists, said Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism. “They see the figures from the last 10 years,” Mr. Vandy said, referring to figures from the Ministry of Tourism showing the number of visitors to Cambodia growing from just 700,000 in 2003 to more than 3.5 million in 2012. …

 Emily Wilkins
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/hoteliers-are-warming-up-to-phnom-penh-51460/