Developing sustainable tourism in Cambodia

The Royal Government of Cambodia has recently completed construction of a new tourist port in Kampot. The project, which was supported by the Asian Development Bank, was started in 2014 and is intended to drive economic growth for the area.

Urban Foresight, along with partners Misca Advisors, is now preparing an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) study for the port. The study aims to advise the government’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) on the procurement of a port operator to run the development.

Urban Foresight’s consultants have visited Cambodia to meet with national and provincial government bodies, tourism businesses, and environmental organizations. The purpose of these meetings was to ensure that environmental, social, and governance considerations are taken into account to ensure the port’s sustainable economic growth potential.

Sustainability credentials are essential in building Cambodia’s position as a tourism destination of choice for travellers conscious of their environmental and social footprint.

The ESG study suggests that a public-private partnership with a port and ferry operator should be established to create a route between Kampot and Phu Quoc, Vietnam. This would open up further opportunities to develop other coastal routes in the future, meeting the government’s ambition of growing the coastal economic corridor between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Dr Graham Thrower, Head of Sustainable Economy at Urban Foresight said, “The Cambodian government are committed to sustainable growth and Urban Foresight is delighted to bring its expertise in environmental, social and infrastructure governance to this new port. The opportunities for sustainable economic growth for this region are real and our work is a key part of that story”.