Vietnamese hospitality company TTC Group announced on Sunday that it has opened a hotel in Siem Reap, its first outside Vietnam, in a move sector insiders believe will lead to increasing numbers of tourists from that country.
The TTC Group’s subsidiary in Cambodia operates the TTC Hotel Premium-Angkor, a four-star hotel consisting of 84 rooms and four floors. The hotel was previously called Golf Angkor Hotel, before TTC bought and renovated it. No investment figures have been disclosed.
TTC Hotel Premium-Angkor sales manager Viet Sokny, who was retained after the purchase, said on Tuesday that the new hotel, with its Vietnamese owner, will prove advantageous in drawing visitors from that country. She noted that under the previous ownership, most of the hotel’s guests were from China.
“The Vietnamese tourist market has vast potential, and we hope to target them and other international tourists as well. We are linked to [the parent] company in Vietnam and cooperate to send each other guests,” she said.
Ministry of Tourism figures show that Cambodia received 5.6 million international arrivals last year. Of these, Vietnamese accounted for 835,335 visitors – second after China’s 1.2 million.
According to data from Angkor Enterprise, the state-owned agency that manages ticketing for the historic temple complex near Siem Reap, Angkor Wat received 2.5 million tourists last year, exceeding 2016 numbers by 12 percent.
Ho Vandy, secretary-general of the Cambodia National Tourism Alliance, said on Tuesday that having more operators to provide hospitality services in Cambodia would help accelerate the growth of the tourism sector in the Kingdom.
However, he wished to see Vietnam open up more opportunities for Cambodian investment in its tourism market.
“We welcome all investors from all destinations, but I’m suggesting that our Vietnamese counterparts ensure fair treatment for all.
“More Cambodian investors are looking to expand their businesses abroad, especially to Vietnam. So ensuring fair competition is needed,” he said.
