Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An has called for the greater use of local products in the tourism sector, as products from overseas that continue to supply the industry result in a 25 per cent loss in revenue for Cambodia’s US$2 billion-a-year tourism industry.

There was little use of local products such as vegetables, fruits and livestock by the tourism industry, leading to farmers being discouraged from producing more, she said in front of an assembly at the Ministry of Tourism yesterday.

“We should study this and encourage the use of these products throughout the country” she said.

Men Sam An questioned tourism experts on the loss of revenue that resulted from foreign hotel owners importing vegetables and meat to supply their guests.

“Sometimes they [farmers] make products that don’t meet acceptable standards, so hotel and restaurant owners consider their products as being of poor quality and drop the price, so that raising chickens, pigs and fish becomes unprofitable” she said.

The deputy prime minister’s words were intended to motivate Cambodians to invest in the tourism sector, especially in restaurants and hotels, Luu Meng, president of the Cambodia Hotel Association and the owner of Malis restaurant in Phnom Penh, said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]