Official Signing Ceremony Formalizes Siem Reap Tourism Alliance

The co-founders of the Siem Reap Tourism Alliance (STA) officially unveiled their logo and name to the world at the recent ITB Asia in Singapore. The announcement was made during an intimate reception held at a distinguished venue.

Over the past two months, the co-founders, spearheaded by Nikolas Hatz, have engaged in intensive efforts to further develop their strategic concepts and vision.

Siem Reap Tourism Alliance

GIZ Icone ITB Asia 2025

The Alliance reached its foundational milestone on December 4th. At PT Restaurant, the co-founders formally signed the foundational agreement they had meticulously prepared, witnessed by an audience of approximately 60 prominent representatives from the Siem Reap tourism sector.

From Concept to Contract Signing

The idea for the Siem Reap Tourism Alliance did not originate from a single individual. It emerged naturally over the past year, following several years of support from the GIZ ICONE Program, particularly through the Tourism Support Package workshops and joint training activities.

In these sessions, we consistently heard the same core message from tourism experts and from tourists themselves: Siem Reap has incredible tourism potential beyond the Angkor temples.

Koh Rong

However, our international visibility is often fragmented and still low compared to our neighboring countries. Furthermore, independent tourism providers lack a unified platform to jointly promote the richness of the destination under one single umbrella.

As a group of local tour operators and tourism entrepreneurs, we realized that we shared a common ambition: to promote Siem Reap internationally with one unified voice, in a modern, collaborative, and professional way.

What STA Is – and What It Stands For

Under the leadership of Mr. Nikolas Hatz, a tourism development expert from GIZ ICONE who has worked with us for several years, the idea of creating the Siem Reap Tourism Alliance was born.

The Siem Reap Tourism Alliance is:

• A private-sector-led, non-profit initiative.
• Uniting tourism providers of different sizes and backgrounds.
• Focused on increasing Siem Reap’s international visibility.
• Driven through collaboration, joint marketing, and strong partnerships.

Nikolas Hatz Project Manager STA

GIZ ICONE member

Together, we want to show the world that Siem Reap is so much more than just temples. It encompasses culture, history, nature, adventure, gastronomy, community, creativity, and, above all, the warmth of our people.

What STA Is Not

It is equally important to clarify from the start what STA is NOT:

• STA is not a competitor to any existing association, club, or federation.
• STA is not replacing or duplicating any official government efforts from the Ministry of Tourism, the Cambodia Tourism Board, or provincial authorities.
• STA is not political or opinion-forming.

Instead, STA complements the existing destination marketing and promotion efforts by adding a stronger focus on Siem Reap as a diverse and unique destination.

Why STA Matters Now

The tourism recovery has made clear that:

• Visitors expect a diversity of experiences.
• International promotion requires coordinated storytelling.
• The private sector needs a shared platform to connect with global partners.

The STA responds to these needs directly. It voices our shared commitment for a stronger, more resilient, and more visible Siem Reap.

Our work focuses on three core domains:

1. International Promotion

• Representation at regional and international fairs (e.g., ITB Asia, ITB Berlin, WTM London).
• Connecting local providers with global markets for international partnerships.
• Digital storytelling and social media presence through modern, targeted campaigns.
• Organizing Familiarization (Fam) trips and press trips.

ITB Singapore

ITB Singapore

2. Destination Diversity & PEOPLE+ Framework

• We aim to highlight authentic experiences beyond the temples.
• We want to celebrate our true heroes in tourism—our Cambodian people.
• To achieve this, we plan to promote culture, history, nature, gastronomy, community, creativity, and local Cambodian products abroad.

3. Networking Activities

• Providing opportunities for networking and knowledge exchange to foster collaboration.
• Establishing connections with international partners and networks.

In 2026, we plan to:

• Further establish our brand identity and digital presence.
• Launch the official STA website.
• Run our first international marketing campaign.
• Organize our first Familiarization trip.
• Expand partnerships.

Join Siem Reap Tourism Alliance

As you can see, we have a lot planned and are actively seeking partners who share our perspective and wish to join our initiative to support our purpose.

Signing ceremony STA

Co-founders STA signing contrac

The STA is built by the private sector and for the private sector—and it is equally a platform for collaboration with other partners. This demonstrates that the STA is designed to be inclusive and collaborative, spanning the private sector, communities, civil society, and international partners like GIZ ICONE, which has contributed so much to the tourism sector here in Siem Reap and Cambodia over the last years.

A big thank you to Dr. Stefan, Program Director of GIZ ICONE, Ms. Marie, Senior Technical Advisor, and Mr. Nikolas, Tourism Development Expert.

Together, we can bring Siem Reap to the global stage with a unified, modern, and compelling voice.

Together, we are the Siem Reap Tourism Alliance!

Siem Reap Tourism Alliance

Co-founders STA

Co-Founders:

The Co-founders will be further developing the plan over the coming months. If you already have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share them with us.

You can follow our updates on LinkedIn, or you can join our Telegram group where we will also keep you informed of the latest developments.