Issue 15 : Jul/Sep 2000

"OPEN SKIES" POLICY PAYS OFF FOR CAMBODIAN TOURISM

After only four months of Cambodia launching its "open skies" policy allowing international airlines to fly direct to Siem Reap daily visitor numbers to Angkor Wat more than doubled. According to Cambodia's Secretary of State for Tourism Mr Thong Khon, arrivals in the northern town of Siem Reap, the gateway to the Angkor temples, had shot up from 400 to 800 visitors a day. The number of arrivals is expected to increase further hitting 1,000 per day in the near future. The "Open Skies" policy introduced by Prime Minister Hun Sen in December 1999 originally drew criticism from Cambodian tour operators based in Phnom Penh fearing a decline in visitors passing through the capital. International airlines currently flying directly to Siem Reap include Vietnam Airlines, Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways International. Figures released by the Cambodian government show that there was an increase in arrivals of 20 per cent to 270,000 in 1999 and it is hoping for a figure of around 400,000 international visitors for 2000.

Mekong Star launch Saigon House Boat Resort

The owners of the Mekong Star barge have just launched another unique product, the Saigon House Boat Resort. Promoted as "a hotel for people who prefer not to stay in hotels" the Saigon House Boat Resort allows guests to spend a day and a night in their own self-contained floating hotel room. Each house boat consists of a comfortable air-conditioned bedroom with en-suite bathroom and a covered upper-deck for dining and enjoying the scenery. Not only can guests stay in their own private floating hotel room but after an hour's driving instruction they can take off and cruise down the Saigon River. A picnic lunch is prepared in advance and dinner is served at the resort in the evening. For those who prefer sleeping on dry land there is the option of staying in one of the resort's two traditional style thatched bungalows.