SKAL BACK IN ACTION

Siem Reap, the organisation of tourism leaders, is up and running again after a long hiatus.

The group held a luncheon at the Abacus Garden Restaurant and Bar on March 12, with a turnout of 20 people.

The luncheon was organised by Siem Reap marketing man Charles Evans, who has been installed as the new president. His first mission is to get legal documents translated from the Khmer, and as soon as this is done, possibly by next week, a board of directors will be appointed, followed by the election of office bearers and committee members.

LONELY PLANET BOOST

Siem Reap tourism-related businesses know they’ve arrived when they appear in the pages of Lonely Planet. A good mention is a guaranteed revenue booster.

According to Lonely Planet’s website, the new edition of the Cambodia guide book, the seventh, will be released in July, and the good news for Siem Reap is that there will be expanded coverage of various activities in the district.

The guide will also feature more on the Mekong Discovery Trail and the Ramsar Wetlands.

The publisher’s press release notes that The Pacific Asia Travel Association predicts Cambodia will have more than 3.1 million international tourist arrivals this year.

But some Siem Reap tourist operators, seeing their cash registers flat line this year, are dubious that the figures will be that big. Once again, troubles in Bangkok are affecting arrivals.

RACE CARD PLAYED

Talk about getting it wrong and playing the race card.

On May 17 DAP News reported that “a group of Siamese staying at the Sofitel Phokeetra Golf and Spa Resort placed a picture of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat in front of the bathroom next to the foot mat”.

As reported by the Post on Tuesday, the incident involved a Filipino and a Malaysian man from the OMG ad agency.

DAP also said that Chhuon Rithy, the union president for the Sofitel resort, “indicated that the hotel owner, who is also a Siamese, rather than scolding his Siamese people … scolded the Cambodian employees.”

The Siem Reap Sofitel resort is owned by the French group Accor. No Siamese people, let alone Thais, were involved in the incident.