CAMBODIA – THE NEW INCENTIVE DESTINATION

Exotissimo have been one of the pioneers of incentive tours to Vietnam and Myanmar over the past decade designing original and innovative programmes. Now we are aiming to become the leader in Asia’s newest incentive destination - Cambodia.

Sofitel Royal Angkor Hotel

With its magnificent Angkor Wat site, some of the best hotels in the region and more and more direct flights to Siem Reap from around the region Cambodia has all the ingredients needed to make a superb incentive destination. The last few years have seen the opening of three fine 5-star properties in Siem Reap. The renovated French colonial Grand Hotel D’Angkor is without a doubt one of the classiest hotels in Asia and is now a member of the prestigious Raffles Group. The Sofitel Royal Angkor, one of the latest additions to the Accor chain in Indochina, is a new hotel, but no less grand. Siem Reap’s newest hotel is the Pansea Angkor, built on a smaller more intimate scale, but with stylish luxury a top priority. Several more four and five-star properties are currently under construction and are due to open over the next 18 months or so. Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, also has some fine international standard accommodation including the atmospheric Hotel Le Royal and the more contemporary-styled Inter-Continental Hotel. Access to Cambodia is simple with both of the country’s international airports easily reached from Bangkok and other regional hubs.

Angkor Wat

Exotissimo Cambodia have already organized two very successful and highly original incentive tours in 2002. In January a 6-day tour programme for 116 pax from France took in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and a night on a remote island in the Gulf of Thailand. The group arrived in Siem Reap on a specially chartered flight from Bangkok on Bangkok Airways. Based at the Royal Sofitel Angkor, highlights in Siem Reap included a tour of Angkor’s temples by local tuk tuk, a lunch in a relocated floating village on the Tonle Sap lake, a cocktail and dinner in the gardens of the Grand Hotel D’Angkor, a poolside dinner at the Sofitel Royal Angkor, a catered lunch deep in the Cambodian countryside and an Apsara dance dinner at Wat Athvea. From Siem Reap the group flew by chartered flight with Royal Phnom Penh Airways to Sihanoukville Airport, re-opened especially for the occasion. From the nearby naval base at Ream the group travelled to Koh Rong Island in the Gulf of Thailand, courtesy of the Cambodian Navy. The accommodation for this unique island castaway experience was a custom-built camp of huts with natural material shipped from the mainland by Exotissimo. For two days the castaway group relaxed in their island paradise and feasted on fresh seafood dancing the night away to a live band. The final destination of the tour was Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh where the group stayed at the classic colonial Le Royal Hotel and were entertained to a gala dinner at the magnificent National Museum of Cambodia.

Ox cart relay race

In February a group of over one hundred staff and families from Italy’s largest ceramic and tile manufacturer enjoyed another extremely entertaining and original tour devised by Exotissimo Cambodia. Bangkok Airways along with its sister company Siem Reap Airways again provided chartered flights as the group visited both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. In Phnom Penh the group were transferred from the famous Le Royal Hotel to the equally well-known Foreign Correspondents Club in a flotilla of cyclos for a private dinner and photograph exhibition. A chartered Siem Reap Airways flight took the group to Siem Reap where they stayed at one of Indochina’s classic hotels, the Grand Hotel D’Angkor with again a grandiose poolside dinner. The highlight of the trip however was a hilarious ‘Angkor Challenge’ tournament held in and around Siem Reap. The group, split into teams, took part in a series of specially developed events to test teamwork and organizational skills including a ‘Cambodian Ox Cart Relay’, a ‘Duck Shelter Building Game’ and a ‘Rowing Boat Race’. After the morning’s activities the afternoon was taken up by a more leisurely tour of some of Angkor’s wonderful temples before a farewell dinner and prize-giving ceremony complete with Apsara dancing at the Apsara Theatre of the Angkor Village Hotel.

Although not yet on a par with some of its more developed neighbours in infrastructure terms Cambodia nevertheless makes a very attractive and unique setting for incentive tours. Several more incentive groups are already confirmed for the end of this year and 2003 looks to be even more successful for the incentive business in Cambodia. For more information on arranging unique tailor-made incentive tours in Cambodia contact cambodia@exotissimo.com