tóm tắt phát triển du lịch sinh thái ở campuchia (the development of ecotourism in cambodia)

Based on the Québec declaration on Ecotourism in 2002 and the Oslo Statement on Ecotourism in 2007, a working definition of ecotourism can be proposed to use in our dissertation: Ecoto

Ministry of Education and Training Viet Nam

National Economics University

By

H.E Thong Khon

A dissertation submitted to the National Economics University in fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in

Chapter I Introduction

1.1 Background

Cambodia is located in the heart of Southeast Asia and is laid on a rich tropical region It captivates images of a glorious and mysterious past with an abundance of cultural, historical, natural heritages and patrimonies dating back thousands of years In abundance with those resources, this country has been classified as a highly-potential country with competitive advantages for tourism development The country actually has full political stability and safety, and

it has been recognized as a tourist destination since 1990’s Since then, tourism development has been on the upsurge, gradually growing throughout major priority regions, particularly in the country’s four priority regions1 Beside the legendary Angkor Wat, Cambodia has a wealth of tourist attractions to offer the visitors including the Phnom Penh Capital City on the banks of the Mekong River with its cultural assets, the coastal region with its beaches ‘’Cambodia Bay is the member of the most beautiful bays in the world club’’, forests and mangroves, and the northeastern part of the country Actually, tourism destinations are being diversified away from cultural tourism sites (Angkor Wat and its surroundings) into the southern coastal zone and the northeastern forest

region, with a focus on ecotourism, where environmental protection of the natural resource bases

become increasingly important

Talking about Ecotourism, some definitions identify ecotourism solely as a form of tourism that has a natural or exotic area as the destination Other definitions are more elaborate, and include conservation and the support of local communities in the planning or implementation of projects Since a consistently used definition does not exist, a unique working definition is adopted by drawing upon recommendation by the Cambodian experiences, and incorporating fundamental elements occurring within ecotourism definitions worldwide These elements require that

ecotourism: involve the natural and environmental; allow for ecological and cultural

sustainability; provide for education and interpretation; and generate local and regional benefits

Based on the Québec declaration on Ecotourism in 2002 and the Oslo Statement on

Ecotourism in 2007, a working definition of ecotourism can be proposed to use in our dissertation:

Ecotourism (known as ecological + tourism) “involves responsible travel to ecological

destinations that contributes to the environment conservation and the well-being of local people improvement.” (Ref Author)

Ecotourism development in natural areas is rationally seen and considered as a part of community-based natural resource management and conservation; and long-term development programs in such areas Thus, the introduction of ecotourism is seen as the efficient way to alleviate environmental problems, to foster democratic society, to improve natural resource management and conservation, and to reduce poverty in rural communities

For the RGC, under the brilliant leadership of Samdach Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo

Hun Sen, economic growth is a priority, while conservation is its commitment The commitment

of the RGC shows a positive indicator which stimulates an interest of relevant stakeholders: the civil society, international communities and development partners to use ecotourism as one of the

1

Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and surrounding areas, the coastal zone (Kampot, Kep, Sihanouk Ville, Koh Kong), and the northeastern part of the country (The Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia)

integrated development tools in park areas and biosphere reserves and other fragile rural destinations of strong human-nature relationship Specifically, in Cambodia, one of the richest

regions in terms of biodiversity and natural resources is the Peam Krosaop mangrove forest,

which is adjoined by Koh Kong Province; and the area serves as a base to visit the Protecting Forest which is a hotspot supporting a wide variety of flora and fauna species, classified

Cardamom-as 10 ten biodiversity hotspots of the world including the Asian elephant, the Indochinese tiger and

the Siamese crocodile It’s also important to be noted that Samdach Akka Moha Sena Padei

Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia said, in his Speech in 2003,

Kompong Cham Province, “When tourists want to go to visit temples, they should go to Angkor

and when they want to visit tropical forests they should go to the Cardamoms” Actually Wildlife

Alliance Organization begins working in Chi Phat Commune in the heart of the Southern

Cardamoms to implement Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) as a way of conserving and developing a region of exceptional natural and cultural significance

Within this framework, ecotourism has become a promising tool for promoting natural resource’s objectives for providing incentives to maintain ecosystem integrity, biodiversity2, and for improving the livelihoods of local communities dependent upon natural resources However,

like other developing countries, the challenges occurring in ecotourism or CBET projects in

Cambodia are noticeably: communication among stakeholders; access to development resources; local support and participation; local capabilities to maintain ecotourism management and development; and power and control over natural resources

Though the researcher doubts how ecotourism can work on a local development process in Cambodia’s protected areas, where social system and conservation course play a crucial role in development policies, resource access and consumption Therefore, it is necessary to understand

how ecotourism is useful for conservation and development in Cambodia

These important issues make it necessary to do research on the development of

ecotourism in Cambodia, and this is a reason why this topic is chosen for my Ph D dissertation

1.2 Research Objectives and Questions:

The main objectives of the study is to evaluate the real situation of ecotourism development mostly ‘‘based on community’’, at present, which was integrated in Development, Conservation, and Poverty Alleviation Strategies in Cambodia Our study is based on the interrelation between

Local Community - Tourism- Nature resource or Protected Area (PA) Therefore, our research

aims to analyze the development of ecotourism in Peam Krasop and Chi Phat by exploring

guiding principles for stakeholders concerned as well as proper mechanisms to use ecotourism in

an effective and sustainable manner

A number of questions could be raised and resolved in our study as below:

- What is the current ecotourism development process in Cambodia?

- What mechanism should be used to better achieve ecotourism goals in a sustainable and

responsible manner in Cambodia? And how to implement it?

The analysis of these questions will produce recommendations which will serve as a foundation for the management, development and planning of ecotourism projects in Cambodia

1.3 Methodology and Data Sources:

To answer all the above questions, it requires a participatory ecotourism development approach for ecotourism developers and researchers to investigate the potentials, challenges and effectiveness in using ecotourism as a tool for conservation and community development in the complex rural context Theoretically and methodologically, this approach is explicit for ecotourism development which previous studies failed to throw a light on factors causing for success or failures of ecotourism projects In fact, ecotourism and natural environment conservation success in

national areas are closely linked to the quality of relationships maintained between tourists, local

communities and natural areas (protected areas) The approach used in this case study research is

based on an analytical framework developed by Ross and Wall (1999) This framework allows us

to evaluate the sustainability status of tourism development projects by analyzing the interrelation

between Local Community- Tourism-Natural Resources or Protected Area (PA)

1.4 Dissertation organization

This dissertation is organized into different chapters as follows

It begins in Chapter 2 with the development of concepts of sustainable tourism or

alternative tourism, which is being used to promote community development and conservation in

natural areas Chapter 3 starts with an explanation of the overview of the Cambodian economy,

tourism and ecotourism in Cambodia Interestingly, we make an SWOT analysis for ecotourism

development in Cambodia based on the current situation Chapter 4 focuses on the case study of Ecotourism in Peam Krasop and Chi Phat CBET development Chapter 5 Based on our analysis

of case study, chapter 5 (Conclusion and Recommendation) suggests what can be done at the policy and operational levels to move ecotourism development in Cambodia in the direction of sustainable and responsible approaches and showcase the research limitations for further studies

Chapter II Literature review: Theoretical and Practical Framework

2.1 Theoretical framework

The rise of term “ecotourism” has been relatively rapid In 1980 the term did not exist and now, 30 years on, this Encyclopedia represents the thinking of many different authors from around the world on the topic For example, Orams (1995) and Hvenegaars (1994) write that the term can traced back only to the late 1980s, while others (Higgins 1996) suggest that it can be traced to the late 1970s through the work of Miller on eco-development (1989)

A body of literature dealing with tourism typologies gives grater attention to particular variations in term of tourism classifications, often with a particular tourism from being placed in 3

or more categories MieckzKowski (1995) does identify “alternative tourism (AT)” as one of two

broad categories along a spectrum of tourism types

So, we propose a classification of tourism development in two categories: mass tourism

(MT) and alternative tourism (AT)

Figure: Tourism classification

(MT) may be said to be predominantly unsustainable

On the other hand, most forms of AT are sustainable in nature (AT) can be broadly defined

as forms of tourism that set out to be consistent with natural, social and community values and which allow both hosts and guests to enjoy positive and worthwhile interaction and shared

experiences (AT) comprises of socio-cultural tourism and nature-based tourism

2.1.2 Principles of Ecotourism

For our research, upon the various principles of ecotourism cited by TIES and the Québec Declaration and on our working definition, we group the principles of ecotourism into six criteria

for ecotourism: 1) Primary focus on Natural Environment as the attraction 2) Minimizes

negative Impact 3) Builds environmental and cultural awareness 4) Promotes conservation 5) Provides financial benefits for local people 6/ Encourage community empowerment through participations

2.1.3 The Politics of Ecotourism

In this context, the need to have specific legal frameworks and policies to ecotourism seem

to be important to regulate the ecotourism activity to ensure its positive impacts For that, each

TOURISM

TOURISM Unsustainable practice Sustainable practice

Socio-cultural tourism Nature based tourism

NBT

Non Consumptive

NBT Agro-tourism

NBT

Ecotourism (Passive)

Adventure tourism (Active)

Source : - Trevor S (2005)

- Fennell D A (1999), « Ecotourism: an Introduction»

government should develop his own ecotourism strategy According to UNWTO, the sustainable

ecotourism development is based on the integrated elements of ecological, economic and cultural sustainability (UNWTO, 2001, 2003) For Weaver (2001) and Diamantis (2004), Ecotourism is largely based on the conservation of biodiversity, mainly in protected areas, together with environmental education and minimizing the impacts of tourism in natural areas Thus, Ecotourism directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, and foster respect for different culture and for human rights, (Honey, 1999) The ecotourism development strategy must be based on conservation of resources and empowerment of local people through direct benefits and control over ecotourism activities (local empowerment which need technical support, ecotourism training and capacity building)

socio-Therefore, there is an agreement in the fact that governmental commitment to conservation and ecotourism development is one of the most important factors for operational success Since the

natural environment is the primary attraction in many ecotourism destinations, it is imperative that

public, private, people and partnership cooperate in regulating and developing the destination For

example, a wider recognition of standards for responsible ecotourism must be adopted by governments and such standards should govern the development of ecotourism

2.2 Trends in Global Ecotourism: Some Insightful Examples of Ecotourism:

The following section will describe with examples a few ecotourism projects from various parts of the world, especially in Asia Although all of them are well known, all of them are not necessarily perfect examples of ecotourism So, to support the ecotourism development, the key

management issues to be addressed include government supports, sustainable use of local

resources, participation of stakeholders in benefit sharing, strengthening of local institutions, linkages with regional and national levels, education and training

2-2-1 Government support:

A characteristic of community-based tourism is that it requires a multi-institutional support structures in order to success and sustains Since community based ecotourism is people oriented

approach, working towards a fair benefit sharing and uplifting poverty will encourage the

government and the community to conserve their natural and cultural resources As a result it

always has positive response from the government Government agencies usually act as facilitator,

coordinator or advisory agency to the local community by establishing local institutions and ecotourism developer and helping the institutions in term of human resources development, capacity building and legal framework

2-2-2 Participation of tourism development stakeholders:

Even though ecotourism businesses are located in natural areas, they still require much of the same infrastructure as other businesses to deliver quality experiences for their clients Indeed, the successful implementation of ecotourism depends on the development of stable infrastructure This increases the scope for wider participation, including the participation of the informal sector Due to its direct and indirect relationship with other sectors, tourism contributes to ‘‘internally generated development’’ by stimulating the establishment of other economic activities such as industries, services and so on

Through contacts with the tourists, members learn new knowledge and experiences, which are quite impossible without tourism activities Community members with entrepreneurship ability may establish business contacts through tour operators, agents or the tourist themselves in order to start a new business While, having visitors at their front doors, tourism offer opportunities to the community member especially housewives to participate in the economic activities It can be pursued through various means such as bed and breakfast, cultural show, souvenir selling, restaurants, general merchant etc et their own home

Moreover, various United Nations agencies such as World Bank, IFC, UNESCO, UNDP and UNEP have also been involved in sustainable tourism and ecotourism for a long time The

1992 Earth Summit’s action plan for the environment, Agenda 21, reinforced UNEP’s mission of working with the tourism industry to promote sustainability UNEP has called on the tourism

industry to be proactive through self-regulation, by adopting codes of conduct and best practices

UNEP has assisted the tourism industry by conducting training sessions for hospitality and tourism business leaders and tourism business leaders on developing environmental standards, using low-impact technologies, and use of ecolabels to certify sound ecotourism practices

2-2-3 Fair benefit sharing:

The indirect beneficiaries of ecotourism would be the wider community as recipients of community development projects funded by the tourism revenues In Zambia for example, a Wildlife Conservation Revolving Fund was established to grant local chiefs 40% of the revenue earned from the sale of hunting licenses This revenue can be used for community projects and has encouraged tribal leaders to become active in anti-poaching activities In the case of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, the Ngadisari village committee funded three young villagers annually to attend a tourism-training course The Conservation Development Committee of Ghalekharka-Sikles Area, Nepal, spend 15% of the tourism revenue for nature conservation, 35% for repair and maintenance

of tourism facilities and 50% for community development In Karen village of Huay Hee of Mae Hong Son town in Thailand, the income from the home stay program, hosts and guides keep 80%

of the money paid for their services, while 20% goes into a village fund (15% go to CBST Group Fund and 5% go to village fund)

However, lack of organization and maagement of ecotourism activity has led to negative

impacts on wildlife The majority of revenue stays in the provincial capital Three lodges concentrated in one village, all owned by reserve guards, provide the only real benefit to any of the

many villages which surround the reserve Reserve guards act as guides- local villagers also act as

guides if there are no guards available Some villagers receive income by renting boats to visitors Therefore, the only local people receiving any regular benefits are reserve guards The reserve retains virtually none of the profits from tourism, 2% of the total trip cost is collected by the

reserve administration, which is returned to the North Sulawesi Government This funding is

inadequate to control illegal hunting, which has reduced the macaque population in the reserve by

75% in the past 15 years Even through guards benefit from the extra-money they receive from ecotourists for providing guide services, this has not been a sufficient incentive to control hunting; indeed, time spent on guiding visitors is time away from protection duties

2-2-4 Sustainable use of local resource:

Ecotourism is highly dependent upon natural capital (e.g wildlife, scenery) and culture These are assets that own and managed by all community members including the poor, individually

or through communal properties, even if they have no financial resources It creates awareness;

self esteem and proud among the community as a whole, as its resources are increasing in value, priceless and become the sole reasons for the visitors to visit their village This may trigger

motivation to the community members to be more responsible and caring towards their resources

2-2-5 Ecotourism and the involvement of local community:

strengthening local institutions

Normally, livelihoods based on activities such as agriculture, cattle farming, hunting, fishing, wood collection, timber harvesting and mineral extraction require substantial amounts of natural resources (water, trees, mineral and, most of all, land and soil) to sustain large populations But, implementation and enforcement of use restrictions may foster confusion and resentment on the part of local people accustomed to using such lands and resources In such situations, local people may become opponents of tourism and undermine its operation Such obstacles to the success of ecotourism can often be countered by involving local people in planning and management processes, whereby they have some control over and agreed-upon access to the

resources they require (local empowerment) In this case, the involvement of local people to

ecotourism development relate to two levels:

1- Ecotourism needs to be incorporated into the social and economic life of the community

This involvement should be in a direct form, such as share of the revenue generated,

creation of improved social welfare, education, infrastructure, and most importantly, employment

2 - Furthermore, the involvement of local people can partly come in the form of

empowerment: the community is given the responsibility to make decisions or, at least, to

be part of decision (control in development and implementation of ecotourism venture) There are fives areas where local people can help to bring about ecotourism activities, Brandon, (1993): information gathering, consultation, decision making, initiating action and Evaluation

2-2-6 Linkages with regional and national levels

Linkages between local entrepreneur with regional, national and even international are the most important platform for long-term success of community based ecotourism businesses in a given destination Together with the initial capital investment, foreign (not necessarily overseas) companies bring with them the advantage of operational expertise, market contacts and the

‘’image’’ The combinations of these factors provide the input to the tourism sector which is unlikely to be available from the local community The local community usually lack of the ability

to link directly to the national and international markets which become the main reason why the

benefits of ecotourism do not dissipate down to the community level The middlemen whom are

able to coordinate the ecotourism activities between the community and the tourist stand greatly to

gain economically Therefore, a partnership between local community and the middlemen or the

tour operators is a vital component for a successful community based ecotourism project

2-2-7 How to mitigate negative impact of Ecotourism?

Ecotourism is frequently considered as the ideal form of tourism, allowing for economic growth and development while protecting the environment upon which it is based However,

numerous examples of ecotourism activities worldwide show that this is not always the case The impacts of ecotourism on society and the environment can be positive and negative For this

reason, the regulatory frameworks and systems should ensure that products that are developed and

marketed as ecotourism are beneficial and not harmful to environments and communities

a- Regulation of Ecotourism:

In general, it is recognized that a variety of regulations need to be developed such as codes

of conduct, ecotourism guidelines, ecotourism certification and so on, together with legal

regulations that help reduce negative impacts Actually, in attempts to raise the consistency of

ecotourism experiences, many destinations have chosen to adopt a set of ecotourism

certification 3

In continents where ecotourism is well developed, one of the main issues that are discussed

is certification However, such certification program not only helps to promote the delivery of

high quality and sustainable ecotourism experiences, but provides consumers and authorities with a

basis for discriminating between legitimate and unscrupulous operators (Allock et al 1994) Based

on voluntary initiatives, ecotourism certification involves setting criteria for measuring the quality

as well as social and environmental impacts of tourism, carrying out audits, awarding eco-labels,

and building consumer and industry demand for such certification programs The use of

certification standards for labeling various products is not a new concept “Blue Angel 4 ”,

Germany’s ecolabeling program established in 1977, was the first environment seal of approval for various categories of products Since then, the use of eco- labels has expanded through the world

Some ecolabel schemes, such as Green Globe 21, define their accreditation criteria purely in terms

of continuous improvement in major areas such as energy and water consumption, etc, and Costa

Rica Certification in Sustainable Tourism program and Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) in Australia

b- Ecotourism Guidelines

There have been strong moves over the last decade, to introduce more sustainable forms of tourism and to demonstrate to visitors this sense of responsibility This has been found among countries, destination regions, cities, hospitality chains, groups of separate businesses and individual businesses Although few destinations or enterprises have developed comprehensive ecotourism policies or ecotourism certification, a number of attempts have been made to develop a more general set of ecotourism ‘guideline’, codes of conduct, and or codes of ethics Guideline, manuals, and other technical assistance for enterprises wishing to improve environmental management performance are another important adjunct to schemes

In general, even though, programs such as these have no teeth but allow an organization to claim greater sensitivity and responsibility (Stoesser 2004), but to ensure the sustainability and

3

Certification is the process by which third-party assessment is undertaken, written assurance is given that the

product, process, service or management system conforms to the standard

4

Blue Angel program is a cooperative effort among several independent organizations, governmental bodies and the

public The entities develop a set of criteria that promote environmental soundness in various products An applicant may pay a fee and have his product tested to determine whether it meets these criteria If the applicant meets the criteria, it may display the seal of approval

effectiveness, it is imperative that certification programs (ecolabel) must be developed in

conjunction with ecotourism guideline

Chapter III An overview of Cambodian Economy, Tourism and Ecotourism in Cambodia

3.1 Overview on Cambodian Economy

History shows us that Cambodia has come through prosperity and difficult periods along with its up-and-down national economy In this sense, there is a particular manner to understand Cambodia properly Normally the country is known for its great Angkor history and the so-called Pol Pot regime Nevertheless, during the last decade (after the liberation day of 7 Janaury of 1979),

under the brilliant leadership of Samdach Hun Sen, Prime Minister, we are up to a new bright

future of the country with significant development in all areas

Talking about growth, Cambodia’s economy is among the fastest growing in the world recently hitting the magic 10%-a-year target during the last few years Cambodia has achieved a decade of sustainable strong economic growth and sound macroeconomic management These remarkable achievements in economic development and poverty reduction were accomplished through responsible macroeconomic management and a steady program of reforms by government, together with the dynamism of the private sector and the productivity and effort of Cambodian people Most of this is attributed to the substantial growth in industry and then services Industrial growth was driven by the considerable growth of garments and construction Services sector growth is due to tourism Recently, in his address at the closing of tourism stocktaking conference

in 2008 and 1st semester of 2009; and the direction setting for 2nd semester of 2009 and 2010,

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HUN SEN, the Prime Minister of the Royal

Government of Cambodia, mentioned that Tourism has been a major growth pillar for Cambodia for years It’s clear that tourism is a major part in service platform of the country’s economy Both industry and services have made considerable contributions to GDP growth

We can say that the four main pillars of the country’s economic growth driving forces are

agriculture, garment, tourism and construction

3.2 Tourism sector in Cambodia: “the new destination”

The tourism sector has been an important and very dynamic engine of growth and generator

of foreign exchange revenues since mid-1990s International arrivals have increased from a very low number in the mid-1990s In 1994 when tourism data was first recorded, Cambodia received

176 617 international tourists In 2010, Cambodia received 2 508 289 international visitors - an increase of 16.4 percent It is worthwhile to note that in the past decade Cambodia witnessed two digit growth rates, making it one of the country’s strongest growth sectors Nowadays, Cambodia is still doing better than the Asia and the Pacific region in general where the growth in international arrivals was around only 13% in 2010

In addition to this picture of rapid growth, there are other very positive trends in the Cambodian tourism sector The country has moved quickly from dependency on long-haul US and European source markets to a much more balanced spread of markets, with well over half of the international market coming from ASEAN member states In fact, cross-border flows are a significant factor in the flow of tourists throughout this region of Cambodia The opening of border

checkpoints to Viet Nam and to Laos will create significant growth in visitor traffic In this sense,

regional markets are extremely important for Cambodia, with Asia and Pacific visitors accounting

for about 60% of all international arrivals The four major tourism markets to Cambodia are: as a single destination within the region; medium or long haul tours that include Cambodia among other regional destinations; as an add-on to a nearby destination such as Thailand, Viet Nam (multi-destination); As a single long-haul destination for Fully Independent Travelers (FITs)

Moreover, as the domestic economy rapidly develops, there has also been an increase in

domestic tourism As a result of both domestic and international tourism development, tourism

receipts are making a significant contribution to the national economy Obviously, due to a continued increase in the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Cambodia, associated receipts rose

from $ 228 million in 2000 to more than $ 1.78 billion in 2010, representing about 12.5% of the

GDP and situating tourism as Cambodia’s second leading source of foreign exchange earnings It is

also estimated that 300 000 jobs were directly or indirectly employed by the tourism industry as of

2010

In sum, Cambodia tourism has been remarkably developed in the last decade The rapid expansion of tourism in Cambodia can be attributed to several factors, primary among which is its natural or “built-in” comparative advantage, namely Angkor Wat Apart from this unique asset, Cambodia’s other cultural legacies, natural endowment and position in the region anchored tourism’s rapid growth, while government policies such as the Open Sky Policy facilitated its rise There is strong evidence that Cambodian tourism has developed primarily on the basis of the comparative advantage of the Angkor Wat temples The high international recognition of Angkor

as a destination is the result of intensive promotional campaign by the Ministry of Tourism,

“Cambodia: Kingdom of Wonder” along with competitive mouvement “Clean City, Clean Resort and Good Service”

However, Cambodia is needed to be diversifying its tourism product beyond the key attraction of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and business tourism in Phnom Penh I believe that

ecotourism provides the best route to diversify tourism in the Kingdom Cambodia is considered to

have a comparative advantage in tourism in form of cultural and natural attractions

3.3 Ecotourism: new trend, niche market of Cambodian tourism

Due to the economic, political, cultural, and environmental circumstances in Cambodia, the country is well-suited for the implementation of the international concept of ecotourism discussed

in Chapter 2 The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) initiated the development of ecotourism in order to:

- diversify the tourism product from culture to nature; - raise the profile of the country as a tourism destination; - attract a segment of the tourism market which is considered to have growth potential; - provide an incentive for the sustainable utilization of natural resources; - alleviate poverty through tourism; - generate renewed pride in local cultures and traditions; - generate resources for conservation; and facilitate responsible tourism planning and management practices

in an integrated manner

3.3.1 Cambodia Ecotourism’s potentials:

Cambodia can effectively compete with other potential destinations in ecotourism sector because of its unique ecosystems and impressive landscapes Almost 70 percent of the land is set aside as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere and forests As a result,

many tourism attractions in this country are culture and nature-based Cambodia holds huge untapped potential for ecotourism development through its abundant natural resources and rich biodiversity Cambodia has a wide range of natural assets, making ecotourism a highly beneficial, sustainable and long-term form of tourism This includes lakes, mangroves, mountains, waterfalls, islands, wildlife and many others More specifically, there are 23 protected areas (7 national parks, 10 wildlife sanctuaries, 3 protected landscapes, and 3 multiple-use management areas were designated in 1993) in Cambodia, covering an area of 47,845 km2 These areas are categorized into national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, multiple use areas, Ramsar sites, protected forests and marine protected areas

based on the IUCN categories and objectives The priority’s areas are the Northest Region,

Tonlé Sap Great Lake region and South-west (Costal) region

So, based on its comparative advantage in terms of the outstanding cultural, wildlife and

natural resources found in the country, ecotourism is seen as a preferable model for sustainable

tourism development in Cambodia

3.3.2 The current situation of Ecotourism development in Cambodia:

Like most parts of the world, ecotourism is a relatively new concept in Cambodia; however, with its enormous geographic and biological diversity, Cambodia has various forms of nature-based travel Ecotourism is a relatively recent development in Cambodia, and really began with the expansion of facilities during the end of 1990s However, in order to understand the current situation of ecotourism development in Cambodia, we need to develop SWOT analysis as below:

a- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for Ecotourism Development: SWOT Analysis

Therefore, the following table is summarized the SWOT analysis on ecotourism

development in Cambodia

Table 1: Summary of the SWOT-Analysis

Strengths

• Varied cultural and natural resources –

green and blue ecotourism and

adventure tourism (Tonle Sap is the

heart of core environmental zone in

Southeast Asia; Cambodia also posses

the largest dry forest in Southeast

Asia; several globally endangered

species; Cambodia Bay as member of

the most beautiful bay in the world

club)

• Friendly people with special

traditional ways of life

• Lack of land management plans

• Limited implementation of policies and strategies

• Lack of funds/investments and human resources

• Unclear roles and limited participation

of ecotourism stakeholders

• Limited knowledge of ecotourism

• Poor/limited infrastructure and waste management

• Limited promotion and marketing

• Time consuming and financial constraint for ecotourism development

• Still low income generation from ecotourism development and livelihood improvement if compared to other