Mondulkiri as a Potential site to attract eco-tourists

Mondulkiri as a Potential site to attract eco-tourists

Cambodia, flush with its success in attracting half a million foreign tourists to the massive temple complexes at Ankor in Siem Reap Province, is now turning to the eastern province Mondulkiri as a potential site to attract eco-tourists.

Already the government, with help from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, is now processing a master plan for new destinations in the province on the border with Vietnam.

Thong Khon, secretary of state for tourism, said the more than 200-page master plan covers the background, characteristics, assessment of tourist sites, the tourist market and infrastructure projects for the two provinces to begin sustainable development. But development will not be easy.

Mondulkiri is some 400 kilometers from Phnom Penh, a distance that requires 12 hours to traverse by car over a still poorly developed road system.

And within the province itself, roads and tourism services are still minimal -- only two guesthouses and an electricity supply that shuts down at 9:30 p.m. each evening.

But Long Vanny, deputy director of tourism in Mondulkiri, said his province has a great potential for naturalists and other eco-tourists because of its waterfalls, hill-tribe villages, plateau grasslands, highland forests, mountains and rare wildlife.

He said there are at least 60 waterfalls that would be as attractive to adventure tourists as would the many kinds of wildlife species still in the area, including wild buffaloes, wild elephants, tigers, deer, bears and Cambodia's national animal the kuprey, a kind of wild cow.

So far, Mondulkiri receives only about 100 to 200 tourists annually, far less than Siem Reap's 500,000 visitors.

But the government is keen to develop natural, ecologically friendly tourism in the region particularly because Mondulkiri's mass forests are being illegally logged.

Tor Soeuth, the provincial governor, said infrastructure development in his province will contribute to poverty reduction and if that infrastructure includes making Mondulkiri more accessible to tourism, then the provincial living standard can be lifted and more resources devoted to fighting the illegal logging.

At the national level, Thong Khon, the tourism secretary, wants to add eco-tourism to Cambodia's already successful cultural tourism program represented by the Ankor temples.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, pointing to both Cambodia's vast natural ecology and its 1,080 temples in 14 provinces, said, ''We pride ourselves to be a nation rich in tradition, unparalleled cultural heritage, archeological treasures, pristine tropical ecology and diversified natural beauty.''

Cambodia sees tourism as one of the six key directions for accelerating economic growth and promoting poverty reduction.

It already earns about $120 million a year from tourism and hopes to see that double, or more, by attracting at least one million visitors annually from 2003.

''We have to think about the trend of tourism in this new world in which tourists prefer a variety of destinations offering culture, entertainment and eco-tourism,'' said Ruos Sam Ear, director of tourism planning and development.

Provincial tourism deputy director Long Vanny said more tourists visiting Mondulkiri would mean more income for his people.

The population in Mondulkiri is just 39,600, almost 80% of them from 20 hill-tribe minority groups who are ready to welcome tourists.

People in Mondulkiri can grow coffee, bananas, corn and tea, but because there is so little infrastructure and too little tourism to create new markets, few provincial citizens farm now.

But with an increase in ecologically friendly, culturally neutral tourism, officials such as Long Vanny believe his province, Cambodia as a whole, and foreign visitors can all benefit.