The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) teamed up to promote ‘green tourism’ in the Kingdom by prioritising
the conservation of natural resources while promoting the use of renewable energy aimed at turning the country into a world-class tourism destination.
The team was formed recently as Sok Soken, Minister of Tourism, received a courtesy call from Bella Roscher, Head of Global Network Development of WWF and Richard Scotney, Global Energy Efficiency Lead, to discuss opportunities for sustainable tourism development, resilient and nature protection held in Phnom Penh.
During the meeting, Soken presented the government’s vision to turn the Kingdom into a global quality tourism destination by focusing on the development of sustainable tourism and green tourism prioritising the conservation of natural resources as well as reducing the use of energy through the promotion of ecotourism while promoting the use of renewable energy.
He said that achieving this vision requires the involvement of all stakeholders which could be made possible under the institutional-private partnership mechanism and in collaboration with the Cambodia Tourism Marketing and Promotion Board (CTB) which was approved by the Royal Government recently.
Bella briefed the WWF’s contribution through the project ‘Reconstruction of Environmentally and Climate-friendly Tourism’ which was launched in 2022, funded by the Swiss Development Agency to help promote ecotourism and tourism communities in the upper Mekong region including Kratie, Stung Treng and Mondulkiri provinces.
Speaking to Khmer Times, Scotney said, “WWF has carried out over 10 feasibility studies for hotels and restaurants across the Kingdom and these studies show how solar can help them save money and boost their green credentials.
Over 12 hospitality companies are also competing in the Cambodia Energy Efficiency Competition to reduce their bills and carbon emissions.”
WWF has installed solar at several community-based ecotourism sites in the Mekong Flooded Forest which ecotourism is a way to generate revenue for local communities as well as protect wildlife while solar allows for a better service for customers and saves costs on diesel, he added. khmertimeskh
