How did you first become involved in the travel and MICE industry? Did you imagine going into the business when you were a student?
After I graduated with a degree in Tourism and Hospitality from a university in Bangkok, I got a job in a hotel for two years. This gave me a good introduction to the hospitality side. The chairman of a tour company I later joined had been in the MICE business for more than 20 years and my involvement grew even more because of this.
When I was a student my dream was not to do business, but to help people. I wanted to become a doctor, but times change so my mind changed too.
What changes have you seen in Cambodia over the years that have impressed you and your clients the most?
Over the past few years, Cambodia has been consistently developing across all sectors such as infrastructure, economy, agriculture and tourism.
The most impressive thing we have seen is to do with spending patterns. The older generation earns and keeps all of its money for its children, but the newer generation earns, keeps and spends money at the same time. So people tend to enjoy their new lifestyles more.
What is your role with B2B Cambodia? How did you come across the company and get started?
My role with B2B Cambodia involves discovering new destinations for Cambodians travelling outside of Cambodia. So as spending patterns change, we need to keep finding new places for them to explore and experience.
Given the mix of experience and expertise of the shareholders, I decided to join B2B Cambodia on leaving the hotel industry. It presented me with new challenges and new ways of seeing Cambodia from a tourism perspective. It’s a good change, because hotel and tourism are still in the same field.
Are you dealing mainly with groups that are outbound, inbound or both? What type of destinations and events are they seeking inside and outside Cambodia?
When we started our company, I dealt with inbound tourists mostly. But after I had spent a few years developing this department, we extended to another department – outbound.
For a Cambodian market wanting to go outside of Cambodia, we need to find new destinations with affordable prices. As most of these clients have already travelled to nearby countries, we will need to find new destinations for them.
For the MICE market, we are also looking to present new things such as teambuilding activities, social activity, staff motivation, new places for meetings and new ideas that we can present to corporate accounts.
What are your hopes for the MICE/business events industry in Cambodia and the wider Mekong Delta region? Is there anything that can be done to create further improvement?
The MICE/business event industry in Cambodia is more focused on corporate accounts and private companies. Trading conditions are changing, so most of the companies we come across care more about motivating their staff.
To improve further, we constantly need to find new destinations, create new ideas for staff motivation, teambuilding and social activities. For inbound, we need to promote Cambodia more to the outside world so that people are aware of our potential.
