Aquatic tourism, as known in travel itineraries, is those tourism activities that are associated with water. These mainly involve those related to long-distance cruise ships, river cruises or stays in a destination which prominently offers water such as sailing, boating and diving.
There is enormous potential for aquatic tourism in Cambodia, given the coastlines of the ocean, all of the riverbanks of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and its tributaries, and, of course, the Tonle Sap itself, Cambodia’s ‘Inland Ocean’, said Douglas Woodring, founder and Managing Director of Ocean Recov speaking to Khmer Times.
“Already tourists love to see these areas, but they are relatively undeveloped. So the trick will be to keep them looking good and environmentally protected so that even more people come. Once the areas are ruined, then tourists will no longer be attracted to those areas,” he added.
Cambodia has great potential from its distinctive geographical setting with oceanside coasts, a major river winding through the country and the enormous freshwater lake, said Danat Thanoosilp, Director of Sales & Marketing, Six Senses Krabey Island. “Different kinds of aquatic tourism can offer various points of interest, from cultural influence and local immersion ecotourism to the barefoot luxury of a sustainable private island experience. Besides the Angkor Wat, Aquatic tourism stands as one of the key elements that can reveal the potential of Cambodia as the major tourist destination in Asia,” he added.
“The positioning of the destination can be more related to water insisting that the Angkor in the capital of the Khmer empire was a hydraulic city is one element,” suggested Alexis de Suremain, Maads brand Founder. Road trips along the Mekong could be one of the main activities in Cambodia because the branding is already done and it’s one of the most if not the most known elements of the Cambodian landscape.
However, the challenges facing aquatic tourism can be daunting, to say the least. “These include pollution, overfishing, overdevelopment, riverbank or coastline protection (both geographically and in terms of nature and ecosystems there). People and tourism can bring income to communities, but they also bring more stress on the systems, including waste, water, food, etc,” pointed out Woodring.
“Accessibility to the kingdom along with domestic infrastructure is still one of the major challenges, besides the operators and suppliers that need to develop the products to be as attractive as the competitive destinations,” said Danat.
Woodring introduces his term in aquatic tourism IOU. “I didn’t invent that term,” he quickly added. “But it’s any kind of tourism that relates to the water, ‘On, In or Under’ the Water. The acronym which we invented is ‘IOU’. If you use the water in some way, you can give back to it. But tourism is just anything related to travel, tourism, sport or recreation which is water related in some way.”
Asked to make a forecast for this sector of the market, Danat was optimistic. “The potentiality can be close to reality with an effective roadmap to develop the entire country as one of the must-visit destinations in Asia,” he said. The supportive hands from all parties count and the lead from the upper authorities is essential, he added.
“If done well, Cambodia can be a leading country in this way of thinking, with proper, managed, eco-developments and appropriate “touch” to the ecosystems and water communities which people want to see,” said Woodring.
All of Angkor was built around water, so it is in the country’s history and DNA. So this is something it can really thrive off, of. But people will want to see clean waters, fish, birds and happy communities living on them in order for the tourism to then also thrive.
*Jigmee Palden Pazo / Khmer Times
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