Tourism Minister Huot Hak said ensuring the safety and security of international tourists and foreign businesspeople staying, visiting and travelling in Cambodia was a top government priority under Prime Minister Hun Manet. Hun Manet succeeded former prime minister Hun Sen, who was now Senate president.
He spoke at the launch of “Cross-border Payment Services and the Cambodia–China Tourism Debit Card”, organised by Bank of China’s Phnom Penh branch at Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh on March 18, 2026. Participants included Chinese embassy economic and commercial counsellor Zhong Jie, Bank of China (Hong Kong) chief executive Sun Yu, National Bank of Cambodia representative Ouk Sarat and representatives from government, business, tourism, finance and partner organisations.
Presiding guests praised the tourism debit-card initiative, saying it would make cross-border QR payments more convenient for Chinese and other international visitors to Cambodia. They described it as another achievement in digital transformation of tourism, finance and QR payments within the “Diamond” cooperation framework, based on mutual benefit and respect. They linked it to the shared goal of a high-quality, high-level and high-standard all-weather Cambodia–China community with a shared future in the new era, and to new momentum for the Cambodia–China Tourism Year campaign.
Huot Hak thanked the Chinese embassy and Bank of China’s Phnom Penh branch for continuing cooperation as important Tourism Ministry partners, supporting tourism development and efforts to attract more Chinese and international visitors in 2026 under the tourism-year campaign.
By: Pai Sokhim
