They had some high-level talks in Riyadh and decided they’re going to seriously expand their partnership. The big plans? They want to set up direct flights between the two countries and launch joint advertising campaigns to get people visiting both places.

This all happened recently during a meeting between Cambodia’s Tourism Minister, H.E. Huot Hak, and Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Minister, H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb. They were meeting on the sidelines of a big tourism conference (the 26th UN Tourism General Assembly).

What Are They Going to Do?

To make this happen fast, both ministers agreed to quickly sign a formal agreement (an MoU) on tourism cooperation.

Here are the cool things they talked about doing:

• Direct Flights: They’re going to study whether they can start direct flights between Riyadh and Phnom Penh. That would make travel so much easier!
• Joint Promotions: They plan to organize special roadshows and events together in key international markets to show off the cool stuff both Cambodia and Saudi Arabia have to offer.
• Swap Trips: They’ll arrange familiarisation trips (FAM trips)—which are basically free trips for travel agents and media from each country—so those folks can experience the destinations and sell the trips better.

Minister Huot Hak gave a big thank you to the Saudis for being such great hosts at the conference. He also congratulated them on running the UN Tourism assembly so well.

To seal the deal, Minister Huot Hak officially invited his Saudi counterpart, Minister Al-Khateeb, to come visit Cambodia whenever their schedule allows. So, expect more official visits soon!

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The MoU was executed on November 10 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by H.E. Huot Hak, Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism, and H.E. Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 26th General Assembly of the UN Tourism.

Targeting New Tourism Markets

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the agreement aims to enhance friendship and cooperation while actively creating opportunities for mutual tourism promotion. With a population exceeding 92 million, Iran represents a significant global market, ranking 17th worldwide. The MoU is crucial for diversifying Cambodia’s tourism markets, strengthening Muslim-friendly tourism initiatives, and developing new value-added and heritage tourism products to attract Iranian visitors.

Direct connectivity via Etihad Airways’ flights between Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Phnom Penh, launched in early October, is expected to greatly facilitate travel, tourism, and investment between the two countries.

Strengthening Regional Tourism

In a separate, high-level meeting on November 9, H.E. Huot Hak also met with H.E. Phyo Saw Soe, Deputy Minister of Hotels and Tourism of Myanmar. Both sides agreed to strengthen and deepen tourism cooperation to boost tourist exchanges and increase international arrivals. They will achieve this through regional and sub-regional mechanisms like ASEAN, GMS, CLMV, and ACMECS. They also committed to exploring the possibility of establishing direct flights between the countries’ major cities and tourist destinations.

READ MORE: Etihad Airways Launches Historic Direct Flights to Phnom Penh’s Techo International Airport

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