Siem Reap to host 8th River Festival next month

Siem Reap will hold the 8th River Festival from March 16 to 18, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Tourism.

According to information shared by So Mara, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Tourism, last Thursday, the festival would include art performances, exhibits, cultural activities and sporting activities to bring more tourists to the province.

He added that this is part of an effort to diversify tourism by organising new events and projects.

The event will also serve to encourage public engagement in the sustainable development of river resources.

The River Festival is held annually in the riverside provinces; the first River Festival was held in Kratie in 2015, followed by Stung Treng, Kampong Cham, Kandal, Kampong Chhnang, Battambang, and last year in Kampong Thom. The festival could not be held in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When it finally resumed after the pandemic, former Prime Minister Hun Sen formally launched the 7th River Festival last year, which was themed “Our River for the Present and the Future.”

“The River Festival has become a significant tourism event. It not only promotes the tourism potential of the Kingdom’s rivers but also supports the government’s strategy of developing riverside regions in a sustainable and responsible manner,” he said, during the launch in Kampong Thom province.

The River Festival is a significant national tourism event that will highlight the potential of Cambodia’s natural resources and biodiversity for tourism and land-based tourism, attracting visitors to the rivers and lakes.

Tourism is an essential source of income to help the Cambodian economy recover, particularly the rural economy, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The River Festival aims to promote awareness of the need to protect the waterways through its celebration and encourage everyone to become more involved in the effective and sustainable use, protection and conservation of river resources.

According to the Tourism Ministry, the River Festival was established by a sub-decree dated October 1, 2014, to create tourism events for special riverside provinces, thereby contributing to the promotion and development of Cambodia’s riverine areas as attractive tourist destinations in accordance with the government’s Tourism Diversification Strategy.