600,000 Expected at Sea Festival

KHMER TIMES
CHEA VANNAK

The of cial poster announcing this year’s Sea Festival in Preah Sihanouk

This year’s annual Sea Festival in Preah Sihanouk province is set to start on December 23 and end on Christmas Day, with a crowd of 600,000 expected at the three-day extravaganza by the coast.

Yun Min, provincial governor of Preah Sihanouk and member of the Sea Festival’s executive committee, told Khmer Times yesterday that the Sea Festival this year will be packed with sea sports programs and entertainment shows, with concerts by some of the country’s top performers.

“Everyone, from the provincial government to the private sector, is working hard to make this year’s Sea Festival a success. This is a perfect opportunity to attract both local and foreign tourists to Preah Sihanouk province during the holiday period,” said Mr. Min.

“We anticipate at least 200,000 visitors a day to the Sea Festival and over three days, a minimum of 600,000 visitors can be expected,” he added.

The Sea Festival, started in 2011, is one of Cambodia’s annual year-end beach extravaganzas and is rotated among the country’s four coastal provinces – Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot and Kep.

However, the unusually high number of tourists expected in Preah Sihanouk province towards the end of the year is a cause for concern for many, including Mr. Min.

“I am worried that hotel and guesthouse accommodation will be stretched to their limit,” said Mr. Min.

“The Sea Festival’s executive committee is working with local residents to get them to rent out rooms to tourists. In the short term, this could mean extra income for the locals,” he added.

Mr. Min also said that the provincial government had requested the presence of at least 2,000 security personnel to help in crowd control and ensure the safety of tourists and dignitaries at the Sea Festival.

Seang Sochetra, front office manager of Golden Sand Hotel, told Khmer Times that his hotel is seeing an increase in bookings during the Christmas period.

“But we expect bookings to be full between December 29 and January 2,” said Mr. Sochetra.

Ho Vandy, secretary-general of the Cambodia National Tourism Alliance, urged provincial authorities to be mindful of the safety and security of tourists.

“I want the authorities to take this [safety and security] seriously,” said Mr. Vandy.

He also appealed to the authorities to provide adequate outdoor toilets and rubbish bins during the Sea Festival.

“The place must not become a horrible mess and all of us have an obligation to protect the environment.”