The Ministry of Tourism is set to launch the “Digital Literacy Training Programme in Cambodia’s Tourism Sector”this week to respond to the need for technological solutions, to restore and prop up the Kingdom’s besieged tourism industry following more than a year of steep and historic losses due to Covid-19.
Scheduled to launch at a ceremony on November 10, the programme will be implemented under cooperation between the ministry, the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC), and Cambodia 4.0 Centre, the ministry said in a statement on November 5.
The event will be attended by Minister of Tourism Thong Khon, as well as UYFC president and Cambodia 4.0 Centre chairman Hun Many.
Khon is also chairman of the Public-Private Working Group for the Rehabilitation and Promotion of Cambodian Tourism Sector during and post-Covid-19, and Many is also chairman of the National Assembly Commission on Education, Youth, Sports, Cult and Religious Affairs, Culture and Tourism.
Cambodia Association of Travel Agents president Chhay Sivlin said the programme will make a significant contribution to the rapid recovery of the tourism sector in the Kingdom, both during and after the Covid-19 crisis, to move “in fast forward motion”.
She said tourism must keep pace with Industry 4.0, and stressed the importance of using digital tools to reach more potential customers; maintain tourists up-to-date and well-informed on tourism products, travel packages and promotions; and minimise the time wasted from repeating information and answering the same questions.
Through these digital solutions, “we can send all the information to customers and advertise to a wider range of potential customers without raising undue suspicion, because they’d have received all the relevant information”, she said.
Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter chairman Thourn Sinan told The Post on November 7 that the ministry has been working with the private sector on Industry 4.0 concerns from the beginning, with the understanding that the transformation could be used to attract tourists, and make their Cambodian travel planning and on-trip experience easier.
He said the programme would be in line with the global situation and provide a lift to tourism communication services related to hotels, flights and other booking needs, especially for daily tours.
In this technological age, phones are no longer mere calling devices, but main points of access to communication networks that drive growth in services and operations in the tourism industry and significantly reduce marketing costs, he added.
“We cannot stick with practicing the traditional ways. So we really need to keep up with the situation because the use of digital plays a very important role in our tourism sector.
“Some people may not have cars, but cell phones are inevitable, or one could even say that people can be homeless, but must have a cell phone – it has reached that stage,” Sinan said.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) defines “digital literacy” as the ability to use digital technology and tools to find, use, manage, evaluate, create and share information securely and accurately, which requires both technical skills and awareness aimed at improving socio-economic activities.