Cambodia named World Best Tourism Destination for 2016

[geovalin]

Phnom Penh, Jun 16 (IANS): The European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) has named Cambodia as the World Best Tourism Destination for 2016.

Some 30 countries joined the competition for the illustrious award this year, an ECTT press release issued late Wednesday said, adding that Cambodia presented its report for the competition under the title 'Cambodia: The Land of Magic-The Place Where Gods And Kings Build the World!'.

Cambodia took the top spot in awards owing to its rich cultural and historical legacy and outstanding natural beauty.

"Cambodia is a perfectly safe and outstanding destination that will forever mark your heart," said Professor Anton Caragea, president of the Bucharest-headquartered ECTT, which consists of 28 European countries as members.

Cambodia is renowned for two cultural sites in the UNESCO's World Heritage List. One is the 12th century Angkor Archeological Park in Siem Reap province and the other is the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple in Preah Vihear province.

Besides, the Southeast Asian nation has many interesting eco-tourism sites, including a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four provinces in the country's southwestern part.

The country attracted some 4.8 million foreign tourists in 2015, earning gross revenue of more than $3 billion, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

Pavel Avramoiu, director for Hotel Management and Evaluation at ECTT, said Cambodia has huge potential for tourism development.

"Cambodia, now proclaimed World Best Tourist Destination, must transform this perfect opportunity and universal limelight in a base for attracting investors in the field of hotels and hospitality to cater for the millions that will find their ways to the Kingdom of Wonders and Land of Magic," he said.

Last year's award winner was the African country of Ethiopia.

source http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=399610

[soalbundy]

Last years winner was Ethiopia ??????? Something big must have changed. How did Thailand rate?

Edited June 17, 2016 by soalbundy

[sanukjim]

Did the travel agents awarding Cambodia this award include the routes k12 and k19 in their report ?

[soalbundy]

Did the travel agents awarding Cambodia this award include the routes k12 and k19 in their report ?

Pristine is in

[shirtless]

Cambodia is great , but could be cleaner

[Kabula]

Wow.....

Unbelievable...

Don't have a medical emergency!

[mcfish]

You couldn't visit shitsvilee Sihanoukville and declare Cambodia as pristine

[DoctorG]

This seems like a presentation competition. Just do a wow presentation to a bunch of fools who have probably never set foot in your country and you are a winner.

Ethiopia last year????

I actually quite like Cambodia but it is not a destination winner.

[cmth]

My personal opinion. Cambodia is like Thailand 20 years ago in many ways. The people seem genuinely friendly and many are still in awe of the Barang (Khmer for Farang). I have not been cheated or scammed in any way while I was there. Safety has never been a concern and the Cambodians seem to appreciate you spending your money there and would be happy to have you stay. Their English is generally very good and they enjoy teaching you about their culture and learning about yours. I'm not a Thai basher, I love 99% of the things in Thailand but the 1% is enough to drive a person mad. I have a good GF here and we will be married within the year. I won't go into the details about her, because nobody here would believe me anyway. And yes I know, but mine is different. Blah, blah blah. But if it were not for my GF, I would be on the next plane to Cambodia and never look back. I don't know about the world's best tourist destination, but IMO definitely the best in SE Asia.

Edited June 18, 2016 by cmth