Visit Kampot app a tourism boon
To promote tourist destinations in his home province of Kampot, Hang Panhaka took it upon himself to establish an online social community network and app which introduces new destinations and shares introductions from local business owners.
He believes the application will provide a convenient service to tourists, both domestic and international.
Hang Panhaka, 29, has always wanted to promote tourism in his province since he was in high school.
“When I was at high school, I rarely left home. One day, I found a waterfall in the forest, and it struck me – there is so much beauty all around that needs to be shared with people,” he told The Post.
Since his epiphany, Panhaka has dedicated himself to promoting tourism. He studied tourist management at the Regional Polytechnic Institute Techo Sen Kampot, and expects to be able to use his skills to build something which will benefit his province.
He created the Facebook page Visit Kampot in 2018 after noting that there were not as many visitors as he thought his province deserved, given its spectacular mountain and many natural wonders.
“Even most of our Cambodian visitors don’t know about these hidden gems. They come to visit Kampot but pass by so many destinations that are worth their time,” he said.
He wanted to fill in the gaps and let visitors know more about these attractions, so that more people would take the time to explore the province.
“I realised that a Facebook page could provide information and was a good way of promoting our province to our visitors,” he added.
He started posting information but did not have access to high quality, attractive pictures. This was when he started thinking about the promotional images of famous foreign tourist destinations which he had seen.
“I knew I was