On 6 March 2018, ASEAN+3 Conference on Interpreting Natural and Cultural Heritage Towards Quality Guiding and Satisfied Tourists was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The conference was hosted by Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia (MoT) and supported by UNESCO Cambodia, UNESCO Thailand, WWF Cambodia, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MOCFA), ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), ASEAN Secretariat and University of Sunshine Coast (USC) of Australia. H.E. Dr. Thong Khon, Minister of MoT, attended the Opening Ceremony and delivered remarks. Mr. Chen Kesong, Tourism Officer of ACC, was invited to attend the event on behalf of ACC. More than 300 experts and representatives of ASEAN National Tourism Organizations and relevant industries attended the event.

Minister Thong Khon said in his opening remarks that Cambodia tourism industry has developed rapidly in recent years, and China, Japan and Republic of Korea have become the important parts of Cambodia’s inbound tourism market. The aim of the conference was to search the cultural and tourism heritage resources of Cambodia and other ASEAN Member States, to further enhance the overall service level of ASEAN tourism, to better meet the needs of tourists from China, Japan and Republic of Korea on service quality and product category, and to further enhance the level of 10+3 tourism exchanges and cooperation.

Focusing on seven topics, namely, “Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage”, “Best International Practice in Guiding”, “Wildlife Tourism and the Importance of the Guide” and “Linking Environment to Livelihoods, History and Culture”, the experts from Cambodia, China, Japan and ASEAN countries made keynote speeches, experiences-sharing, case analysis and policy interpretation, and interacted with participants in a warm atmosphere.

Ms. Jiang Yiyi, Head of International Tourism Research Department of China Tourism Academy, was invited by ACC to attend the conference and delivered a keynote speech. She said that with the increasingly close contacts between China and Cambodia and other ASEAN Member States, tourists demand more tourism products, higher tourism service level, and more diversified tourism-related products. The National Tourism Organizations and tourism industry practitioners should actively think about exploring effective ways to further deepen cooperation, diversify development resources, effectively enhance heritage protection, and continuously improve service quality, so as to jointly create tourism brand and promote two-way tourism cooperation.