Rooms with a view

A wave of foreign-built resorts in Cambodia is reshaping the country’s tourism sector in a race for guests
On a growing wave of foreign tourism, investments are rolling into Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and other popular tourist destinations countrywide. The result is a boom in resorts and boutique hotels offering international visitors acccommodation standards that rival those in more established tourist destinations.

The Kingdom’s drawcards are much like those of its neighbours – temples, long white beaches, clear blue seas, forests and jungles.
“Cambodia has beautiful islands and a long coastline,” says Thida Ann, associate director of research at property consulting firm CBRE Cambodia. She says the coastline will continue to be developed as tourists numbers grow. “We believe that the Cambodian island Koh Rong will become the new Koh Samui soon.”
International tourist arrivals in Cambodia saw a 4.2% increase year-on-year as of August last year, while arrivals by air at Phnom Penh’s and Siem Reap’s international airports increased by 10.1% and 16.2% respectively.
Apart from the country’s growing popularity with tourists, the massive increase in resorts and boutique hotels in Cambodia is taking place, at least in part, thanks to an amended foreign ownership law that makes it possible for foreigners to own units in condominiums or co-owned buildings, when foreign ownership does not  exceed 70%.  However, island resorts can only be acquired through a concession issued by the Cambodian government.
Meanwhile, many Asian tourists are reportedly enamoured of the fact that many  Cambodian resorts offer gambling – an activity oftem prohibited in neighbouring countries.
The biggest investors in resorts at present come from China, Thailand, Singapore and Japan, but Australians and Europeans are not far behind in terms of investment.
Travel and tourism are increasing mainstays of Cambodia’s GDP.
Cambodia ranks number six of 184 countries in terms of long-term tourism growth in the period 2014-2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
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