New international flights provide lift
The number of casinos in Sihanoukville, Cambodia has doubled since last year from seven to 14, and five more gaming applications await approval, reports the Phnom Penh Post. The flourishing industry in the coastal city means Sihanoukville could challenge Poipet’s dominance as Cambodia’s leading casino destination.
“Before, casinos were mainly at the border,” said Ros Pheran, spokesman for the Ministry of Economy and Finance. “But as the economy grows and more tourists visit the coast, more casinos are opening. And for first time, Chinese are going to the seaside to look for opportunities to invest.”
They are also coming as tourists. From January to August, more than 460,000 Chinese travelers arrived in Cambodia, up 26.5 percent year on year, making China the second biggest feeder market after Vietnam. The coastal region has been helped by new flights from Sihanoukville International Airport to South Korea, Singapore and China.
“If the city can attract more investors in gambling, then construction, hotels and a bigger tourism business will grow accordingly,” said Pheran.
Meanwhile, casinos in Bavet and Poipet, on the border with Thailand, have been tainted by stories of kidnapping and extortion. Those tales could benefit Sihanoukville, which until now has been viewed mostly as a beach town and a backpacker destination. Luu Meng, president of the Cambodia Hotel Association, said the port city “has been waiting for many years for someone to start it off… It requires someone to take the risk. Someone has to begin building and we’ll need to wait for the customers to see what happens.”
Sihanoukville is key to the government’s plan to develop its southern coast as Cambodia’s next tourism hotspot after Siem Reap, the Post reported. In the first eight months of the year, the airport processed almost 65,700 passengers, up 149 percent over the same period in 2014.
Tourism consultant Ho Vandy, formerly of the Private and Public Sector Working Group, said the city need “more attractions such as theme parks and special places to visit to get more tourists all year round.”
