A National Trafficking-in-Persons Prevention Roadshow is currently taking the iconic network through five Cambodian provinces.

After last month’ s performances in Kampong Cham and Prey Veng, the MTV EXIT team will head to Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and Koh Kong in the next two months. These provinces have been selected due to the high trafficking incidence in the localities.

“The focus of the selection process was to choose five key provinces with a high prevalence of reported human trafficking cases,” says Shane Lee, communications manager at MTV EXIT.

“These five provinces were chosen in strict consultation with local counter-trafficking organisations in Cambodia, and Winrock International, which is also working closely with the National Committee to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labor and Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children.”

The tour showcases various educational activities headed by dancers, musicians and comedians, with the organizers announcing that famed rapper Poukhliang will have performances at each show.

In an interactive workshop, kids are invited to take part in painting an anti-trafficking mural headed by two young professional artists.

The exhibit will showcase the works of seven artists who practice in different mediums, commemorating the seventh anniversary of the hotel’s reopening in 2005. The event will be the concluding exhibition before the five-star boutique hotel closes by the end of June for a total overhaul.

Sasha Constable’s stone carvings from an ongoing series on Angkor-inspired gods and demons will be among the highlights of the special exhibit, along with the works of young sculptor and painter Chhan Dina, whose series of paintings depicts scenes from day-to-day life.

Leang Seckon, a leading artist in the Cambodian contemporary art scene, will showcase his ‘My Feeling from the Buddha,’ while Meas Sokhorn will display a series of sculptures made from manual labor tools, wire and objects recovered from ‘et chia’ or rubbish collectors.

Svay Ken’s oil paintings that demonstrate scenes from day-to-day life will also be exhibited. A self-taught artist, Svay Ken was regarded as the grandfather of Cambodian contemporary art. He passed away in 2008.

Also showcasing their works are French artist Vincent Broustet, whose works delve into a varied subject like people, architecture and landscape; and Battambang young artist Yim Maline, whose meticulous and rigorous practice covers media and studies the complexities of freedom.

‘Seven’ will run from May 10 to June 27 at the hotel’s Arts Lounge.

The awards, now in its fourth year, are based on the destinations’ popularity, taking into consideration travelers’ favorites and most highly rated destinations.

London topped the list, followed by New York City, Rome, Paris and San Francisco, California.

Siem Reap, Cambodia was the only Asian destination to make it to the top 10.

The boutique resort is owned by Manfredi De Lucia, Maddalena Morandi and Giovanna Morandi, the family behind one of the town’s favourite restaurants, the Italian hotspot Il Forno.

The resort, which took several years in planning and a year in the making, will offer 18 rooms and suites, two pools, a restaurant, yoga studio, spa and a fitness center for a maximum of 36 guests.

“The concept of our place is to make a boutique resort, with not too many guests,” says Chiara De Lucia, Manfredi’s sister, who is responsible for marketing for Navutu Dreams, which will be completely fully serviced like a resort but with the privacy of a true boutique hotel.

The Siem Reap venture fuses Khmer architecture with simplistic and modern buildings,unlike the family’s first foray into resort construction, the Navutu Stars in Fiji, which features local style bamboo architecture and allows the amazing surroundings to take center stage.

The rooms and suites are made from white concrete with portholes and geometric lines, with the centrepiece being a huge thatched pavilion housing the restaurant.

The bigger suites also feature private roof terrace for catching rays or enjoying the sunset.

Despite the resort’s facilities, prices start from $175 per night, still lower than its competitors around Siem Reap.

Roll up is a great addition to the duo’s restaurant portfolio, including its garden hideaway Palate, located near the Angkor Night Market.

“Palate, we set up in a tropical garden. It’s a nice setting, relaxing, but it’s very small and it’s not very busy, ” says Sothorn. “So we just thought, let’s take a risk and try to do something.”

The eatery is still in its formative years, but it is already gaining the support of locals, with anti-Pub Street expats saying they will visit the place.

More decoration will be done on Roll Up, and the full menu will still be carefully prepared.

“The real menu will come soon, and it will have lots of surprise fusion dishes,” says Sotho.

With its great food, stylish branding and fantastic service, expats will be giving their prejudices on Pub Street and rolling up soon.

The 1,290 tourists were in a tour that saw one of the first direct tourism oriented flights from the Spanish capital. The four planes – one Boeing 767 and three Airbus 330s – were also some of the biggest planes yet to land in the gateway to Angkor Wat.

“It’s the first time big planes land here. I hope it will attract more European tourists,” said Kong Sangvar, managing director of the agency Orchestra Travel & Tours, which helped organise the tour.

“Permanent flights needs long-term research because it is based on passengers from Spain,” said Tith Vanna, director of Siem Reap International Airport.

The flight implies that Europe was not a dead market for the Kingdom’s Cambodian, said Ang Kim Eang, head of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents.

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples enjoyed a 45 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists to 639,800 during the first quarter of 2012, based on the recent statistics of the provincial tourism department of Siem Reap.

South Korea, Vietnam and China were the top three nations that visited the world heritage site. About 132,750 South Koreans, 49,231 Chinese and 75,088 Vietnamese visited the temples from January to March 2012, up 67 percent, 54 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

“We see that the visitors from South Korea and China are on the sharp rise,” said Chhoeuy Chhorn, chief administrator of Siem Reap provincial tourism department. Chhorn attributed the increase to the wider promotion of the site, increased flights, as well as more direct flight connection between Siem Reap and other Asian nations.

Located about 315 km northwest of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the Angkor archeological park in Siem Reap is the biggest cultural tourism of the country.

The temples charge an entrance fee of US$20 for one day, US$40 for three days and US$60 for a one-week visit.

The Angkor Wat temples drew 1.6 million foreign visitors in 2011, representing a 23 percent increase.

Tourism is one of the four main pillars that support the Kingdom’s economy, the three others being real estates, agriculture and garment industry.

The flight departed from Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 7:45 p.m. on April 12, with Cambodian Ambassador Hos Serythonh attending the send-off.

“We are happy that Cebu Pacific chose Cambodia to be part of its extensive Asia-Pacific network, as the only airline to operate the Manila-Siem Reap route,” said Emmanuel Menanteau, chief executive of Cambodia Airports, as quoted as saying by ABS-CBN News.

The direct flights to Siem Reap will greatly help the development of trade and tourism between the two nations, as well as contribute to the improvement of the connectivity of their airport, said Menanteau.

The return service between Siem Reap and Manila is thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The worldwide golf development program Faldo Series will come to Cambodia thanks to a joint effort between Sir Faldo and the golf course, with the first Faldo Series Cambodia Championship to be held at the Angkor Golf Resort on September 11 to 12.

Players of all nationalities and of both sexes aged between 12 and 21 can join the tournament, to be played over two rounds. The field will be separated into age groups – two for boys and two for girls – and the winners will get a chance to join Sir Faldo for the 7^th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in China in March.

Though the tournament is open to players as old as 21, the key driving force of the tournament is to introduce golf to schoolchildren, particularly girls, said Adam Robertson, general manager of AGR.

“The significance of this programme is basically to introduce golf at a grassroots level to children who wish to understand the game of golf. There are very few male, and even fewer female, golfers here in Cambodia, which is why it is important we introduce golf to children,” he said.

“The fact that the programme is endorsed by Sir Nick Faldo and the Royal and Ancient [Golf Club] of St Andrews adds special credence to hosting the Faldo Series. Having golf as one of the extracurriculum activities set out by schools here in Cambodia is a start to hopefully nurturing a talented Cambodian to become a future Asian Tour star.”

Created in 1996, the Faldo Series now hosts 37 Faldo Series tournaments in 27 nations worldwide with over 7,000 golfers taking part every year.

Siem Reap International Airport and Phnom Penh International Airport recorded a 25 percent and 14 percent increase in arrivals, respectively – a growth attributed by industry insiders to economic development in the region and increase in the number of flights.

The two airports recorded 608,281 arrivals in the first quarter, an increase from the 505,318 arrivals during the same period in 2011. International arrivals jumped by around 27 percent in the first quarter.

“The improvement in the Asia-Pacific economy also contributed to the growth. We noticed a lot of tourists from these countries where there is a large number of middle class people,” said Tourism Minister Thong Khon.

Based on data from the tourism ministry, Cambodia registered around 1.84 million tourists from East Asian and ASEAN countries last year, representing 69 percent of the total incoming visitors.

Airlines have improved flights on greater demand, said Ho Vandy, who co-chairs the Tourism Working Group of Cambodia.

“I noticed that some existing airlines are increasing the number of flights because they have an increase in number of passengers to our country.”

The amount of cargo that passed through Phnom Penh International Airport also surged by around 30 percent, while domestic cargo passing through Siem Reap International Airport climbed by 91.17 percent, based on Cambodia Airports data.