Cambodian minister of tourism Huot Hak shared several key points of view during his keynote speech at the recently-concluded ITE HCMC 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
At the high-level tourism forum held to open the event on Thursday, 4th September, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre, Huot declared that the event was a great venue in which to discuss ways forward for tourism development towards sustainability and resilience.
The minister directed listeners to consider this year’s conference theme: Sustainable Travel, Vibrant Experience.
He declared: “Tourism in the 21st century is being redefined by several driving forces, namely the rapid pace of digitalization and the urgent need for environmental sustainability.”
How technology and sustainability aid the transformation of the tourism sector
According to Huot, digital transformation plays a pivotal role in improving competitiveness and destination.
At the same time, green transformation is just as essential as it acts as the moral forecast of tourism development.
Huot went on to say: “The future of our industry depends on safeguarding the very assets that attract travellers, our environment, our cultural heritage and our community. Green transformation ensures that growth does not come at the expense of sustainability.”
When taken in tandem, digital transformation and green transformation enable governments to formulate relevant policies to ensure both competitiveness and responsible practices.
By doing so, authorities can ensure that their tourism sectors continue to generate prosperity whilst preserving culture and nature for future generations.
As Huot put it: “The development of the tourism sector in this post-industrial revolution era really requires both digital and green transformation. As policy makers, we need to foresee the future and be one step ahead for advanced preparation and readiness to adapt to rapid development.”
What Cambodia is currently doing
In his speech, Huot also explained how the Royal Government of Cambodia began considering tourism as a focus area for sustainable growth during the regime of its 6th Legislature.
For this reason, throughout much of the pandemic era (2020-2022), the country used the time to develop the Digital Economy and Social Policy Framework of Cambodia, essentially laying down the foundations for the promotion of digital adoption and transformation in all sectors and industries.
The succeeding regime of the 7th Legislature went on to adopt Phase I of the Patagonia Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity, Efficiency, and Sustainability.
As a result, Cambodia launched its Visit Cambodia in the Green Season campaign which encourages global travellers to experience its verdant natural landscapes and vibrant traditions throughout the monsoon months which run from May to October.
By doing so, Cambodia is able to spread tourism demand more evenly throughout any given year.
Huot added: “We are also implementing ASEAN Green Hotel and Eco-Tourism Standards to ensure that accommodation providers adopt sustainable practices such as energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction.”
Also, community-driven ecotourism initiatives are gaining ground in several Cambodian provinces.
These efforts are instrumental with regard to offering tourists authentic local experiences whilst ensuring that host communities gain the full economic benefit from them.
Cambodia is also integrating aspects of archaeological tourism, digital visitor management, and environmental safeguards to balance increased tourist demand with the preservation of the country’s heritage.
Key recommendations
As a way of concluding his speech, Huot presented his audience with several recommendations for the shared journey towards more sustainable tourism in the coming years.
The measures he proposed include:
- Maintain healthy diplomatic and economic ties with one’s neighbours Cambodia has long attached importance to its close relationship with Vietnam, as well as other nations within the Indochina Region and ASEAN. Such relationships have led to comprehensive cooperation between nations, thereby enabling the sharing of knowledge, natural resources, human resources, and innovations on both a national and a regional level;
- Digitalisation is mandatory, not optional According to Huot: “Digitalisation is the backbone of modern competitiveness.” In which case, both governments and the private sector need to invest in this whole infrastructure, capacity building, and innovation so that tourism operators of all sizes, particularly SMEs and community enterprises, can benefit from the opportunities of a greener economy.
- Green transformation needs to be made mainstream This means that sustainability and environmental responsibility need to be covered in every aspect of tourism, planning and investment. By doing so, industry professionals and host communities are able to ensure local sustainability, as well as compliance with global standards, certifications, and incentives.
