Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials have recently attempted to discourage operators from increasing the cost of rooms during holidays like Khmer New Year and the King’s Birthday, with the Premier saying unfair price hikes hurt the tourism industry as a whole.

According to Kim Chantha, who owns a 20-room guesthouse in Sihanoukville, price hikes were beyond her control. She said group tour operators frequently booked the entire guesthouse and imposed rates higher than the usual rate.

Kim Chantha said the mark-up on a room often stood at US$10 on top of the original US$15 as they will be on the King’s Birthday, which runs from Sunday until Tuesday, adding that she declined to double to rate.

“Price increases don’t happen all the time, just during the holidays,” she said.

State Secretary Ros Ren told a recent Tourism Ministry meeting that operators lied to guests during Khmer New Year on how many rooms were vacant hoping to make more money. He asked provincial authorities to take tough action on unreasonable prices, which he claimed could spoil trips for travellers.

“It’s a festival, and we have that festival only one time [a year],” he said.

Price hikes at hotels had been limited, said You Sokkeng, sales and marketing manager at Cambodian Resort Hotel, adding that any increase in rate had to do with marketing theory.

“When there is more demand, price will increase,” he said.

Sihanoukville province deputy governor Phai Phan admitted that it was difficult to control prices in the private sector. He also concurred that some price hikes were inevitable in the province.

“Sihanouk province is different from the other provinces because it needs to import almost all meats and vegetables,” he said.

While Tourism Minister Thong Kong had previously asked authorities to focus on industry development in Sihanoukville, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, the ministry would now inject more resources into ecotourism in Mondulkiri, Ratanakkiri, Stung Trung and Kratie provinces.

“In the coming months, we will hold a big seminar in the northeastern area of the country to focus on the ecotourism. We will strengthen those provinces because in the past we strengthened the coastal area,” said Thong Kong.

Cambodia’s ecotourism – the country’s second largest industry in terms of revenue — had a big potential, he said.

Some of the region’s highlights were its natural beauty, ethnic diversity and dolphin watching, he added.

Based on the three-month data from the ministry, international tourist arrivals to Cambodia’s northeastern provinces rose 17.2 percent to 18,288 tourists.

The minister also encouraged the private sector to help in the human resource development in the field of tourism.

According to Nget Pitou, director of the Tourism Department of Ratanakiri, the heightened attention given to the region could prove successful as the provinces offered many untapped tourism resources.

“I see a lots of potential eco-sites in the northeastern provinces,” he said.

Around 600 tuk-tuk and motodop drivers attempted to join the protest, but were prevented by a huge police force that also blocked the protesters from presenting a petition to the provincial governor, said Heng Sam Om, secretary-general of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association in an interview with the Post.

The drivers were seeking a blanket ban on motorbike rents for foreign visitors.

“We don’t want to rent motorbikes, because foreign tourists don’t know Khmer habits when driving; they don’t comply with the law, and some drive by keeping on the left side, so that causes traffic accidents,” said Heng Sam Om.

The drivers were also calling for bus companies to stop courtesy hotel pick-ups for customers.

“Now, our business is not rich in [Sihanoukville] because foreigners get their own transports,” added Heng Sam Om.

Preah Sihanouk Governor Sbong Sarath said police forces were positioned to ensure the safety of the drivers who failed to give prior notice of their protest plans, adding that their request was not reasonable since the country is a free market.

SPSEZ, located next to the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, around 230 km southwest of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, came to reality thanks to a low-interest-rate loan from the Japanese government, amounting to US$35 million.

Works on the physical infrastructure, electricity lines and water system in the 70-ha zone started in October 2009.

“Cambodia has a lot of Special Economic Zones, but the SPSEZ is the only one state-owned industrial zone,” said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during the inauguration ceremony, calling for Japanese investors to build their business ventures in the economic zone. ”I believe that Japanese investors will begin to invest and build factories in the zone in order to manufacture goods for exports as the zone is next to the international Sihanoukville Autonomous Port.”

It was in 2006 when the Kingdom first created a SEZ, with its aim to draw investors to construct factories within the zone to produce goods for exports.

Cambodia now has 21 SEZs, located along the borders with Vietnam and Thailand, and on the outskirts of the capital and Sihanoukville province, said the Council for the Development of Cambodia. Less than 10 zones, however, are operational.

The Cambodian government considers SEZs as essential part of its economic development as they bring jobs, skills, infrastructure and improved productivity.

Investors in these zones will gain from various fiscal incentives like customs, income tax and VAT benefits.

The deal marks as the second project by the company, with the first being the Section C Project of the 3×135 MW Units of Sihanoukville.

Under the new project, two 20,000 ton bulk cargo berths will be constructed; the wharf is high-piled beam-slab structure measuring 427m in length. A plate beam bridge will also be built measuring 1,884m in length. The project’s dredging volume will reach about 2.8 million m³.

The project is set for completion on October 30, 2013.

The increase was driven by exports of Cambodia’s rice, timber and garments, along with imports of electronics, construction materials and textiles, said Lou Kim Chhun, general director of SAP.

“Economic growth has increased remarkably, so the increase of goods in and out of the country also saw a hike,” he told the Post via phone.

SAP data showed that overall revenues for the first quarter rose to $8.3 million from $6.8 million over the same period last year.

Twenty-foot-equivalent containers jumped 11.8 percent from around 53,900 to nearly 60,300.

Milled-rice exports reached 30,828 tons, up 18 percent from the same period last year.

Cambodia seeks to export up to a million tons of milled rice by 2015.

According to Rami Sharaf, chief executive of RMA, the US$3 million investment can produce 6,000 cars annually and will drive down the local price of the Ford Everest model by as much as 25 percent.

But preliminary production figures were undermined as Cambodia’s second car assembler tested the market.

“We’re cascading down to the consumer,” said Sharaf, who also chairs the Cambodia Automotive Industry Chamber. “Production will depend on the demand we see in the market this year.”

Cambodia’s yearly demand for cars was limited, he said. Out of the 30,000 new cars sold in the country last year, only 10 percent were purchased from authorised dealers like RMA, with the lion’s share of sales going to unlicensed dealers.

But the slashed priced of locally assembled vehicles, which would evade high import tariffs, could draw more buyers to authorised dealers, said Sharaf.

“Markets like Cambodia are particularly appealing to us because they are starting on their growth curve,” said David Westerman, regional manager for Ford Asia Pacific, during a press conference held in Phnom Penh.

About 7 percent of the carmaker’s growth would be in Asia Pacific in the next decade, added Westerman.

The Ford plant in Cambodia would focus on the local market on the short term but would also take into account exports to regional markets, Sharaf said.

About 1,000 amateur and professional athletes joined the inaugural Sihanoukville International Half Marathon, which aimed to promote sports and boost tourism in the coastal areas.

About 100 foreign runners from 12 nations took part in the event, said Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia.

“The event is vital to promote sports and tourism in coastal areas,” he said.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon presided over the Sunday event.

Three Cambodians emerged fastest in the men’s 21-km race, based on the results released by the NOCC. Cambodian Ma Viro finished first with a remarkable time of 1hr 23m 37s, followed by Svay Chanthan and Kong Thoeun.

In the women’s 21km category, France’s Clementine Tamouide timed an impressive 1hr 43m 04s, with Australia’s Pip Miner and British Louta Watson trailing behind.

Cambodian and US military personnel will use the area for training including a yearly exercise by the 11^th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The project involves clearing and levelling 5,000 sq m of debris including rocks, dirt and trees to create a flat surface for the range.

“We are happy to be able to help the Marines with this project as it will not only help our guys but the Cambodians as well,” said Construction Mechanic Joshua Embry.

According to the report, the “seabees” were making progress with the Cambodian military personnel and hoped to advance their efforts with the new addition of Marines excavators and bulldozers.

Cambodian beach

The beach resorts in Cambodia have been drawing an increasing number of tourists after it joined the World’s Most Beautiful Bay Club league, said Mr. Kong Sophearak, director of the Tourism Ministry’s Tourism Information Department.

The number of local tourists will likely jump to around 20 percent this year, while foreign tourists will rise approximately 15 percent, he said.

About 1.6 million foreign and local tourists visited the Kingdom’s beach resorts in 2011.

More and more tourists will visit Cambodian beach resorts thanks to their potentiality and the direct flights between Sihanoukville and Siem Reap, said Mr. Ho Vandy, co-chairman of Government-Private Sector Tourism Working Group.

A tourist port will soon arise, attracting more Vietnamese tourists, he added.