Cambodia to build tourism schools

Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit

PHNOM PENH, 25 September 2015: Cambodia Ministry of Tourism will work with Agence Française de Développement to establish two tourism schools in Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk next year.

Khmer Times quoted Tourism Minister, Thong Khon, saying construction of the two training schools could start next year.

The government would need to borrow USD12 million for the construction and set-up, the report claimed.

The country will need to increase the tourism workforce to about 1 million to serve 7.5 million foreign tourists expected in 2020.

The tourism ministry has also cooperated with the Ministry of Commerce and Switzerland’s Shift 360 Foundation to organise a cooking school in Phnom Penh, the report added.

Cooks and housekeepers are included in 32 positions in six labour divisions that will have the freedom to work in any of the ASEAN Economic Community countries at the end of this year.

It is very likely that four and five-star hotels will recruit for these positions in the Philippines, known for its strong English language skills.

The six labour divisions are: Four in hotel services including front office, housekeeping, food production and food and beverage services; two in travel services consisting of travel agencies and tour operators.

Unfortunately the freedom to work in any of the ASEAN nations could also cause a drain on its own workforce as qualified workers will seek higher paying jobs in other ASEAN nations.

Hotels in Cambodia will be able to recruit outside the country for any of the jobs stated in the AEC agreement, but it will increase hotel payrolls as foreigners will expect a higher pay scale than offered to local staff.

Last year, Cambodia attracted 4.5 million international tourist arrivals increasing 7.0% from 4.2 million in 2013.

source: http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2015/09/cambodia-to-build-tourism-schools/