Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #27

A New Way to Discover Cambodia
Running the Angkor Trail - around Cambodia’s historic 7 th
century Angkor Wat temple
Adventure seekers now have the chance to combine their next
sporting challenge with a visit to one of the world’s most historic
landmarks with the inaugural Ultra Trail d’Angkor in Cambodia.
We asked Edouard George of the specialist South East Asian travel
agency, Phoenix Voyages Group, to tell us more.
Edouard
George
CEO,Phoenix Voyages Group
Edouard joined the hospitality industry in
1984 with Accor Group.
In 1991 he was part of the opening team
of Sofitel’s Metropole Hanoi, Vietnam’s
first international hotel.
In 1999 Edouard started a travel inbound
agency, Phoenix Vietnam. Now Phoenix
Voyages Group has offices in Vietnam,
Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia,
South and North Korea, Bhutan and Bali.
It is the first time an endurance running event
of this kind has been held in the UNESCO
World Heritage site at Cambodia’s 7 th
century Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. There
will be three separate running courses
with different levels of difficulty. A 32 km, a
64 km and the 128 km Ultra Trail. There is
also a separate 32 km Nordic walking event.
All the races take place on 23 January, 2016
when conditions should be good for running
as it is dry and mild at that time of the year.
How did the idea come about?
Our company has organised several events
with SPDO of France in Asia and the idea
came out of one of those. We chose
Cambodia because the site is fantastic and
we have extremely good relations with the
government. The event is being supported
by the Minister of tourism, H E Dr Thong
Kong and chairman of the National Olympic
Committee. We hope it will become a yearly
event for many years to come.
There will be
three separate
running courses
with different levels
of difficulty.
How will it help promote the culture and
people of Cambodia?
Cambodia is very much open to tourism
and any major events are important to help
promote the country internationally. I am
sure the runners taking part will also want
to take the opportunity to visit and discover
such a wonderfully rich cultural part of
South East Asia.
CONTACT
Phoenix Voyages - SPDO
16 rue Jean Cocteau
95350 Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt
Tel: +33 (0)1 39 94 01 87
ultratrail@phoenixvoyages.com
www.ultratrail-angkor.com
Who was behind the initiative?
Jean Claude Le Cornec and his team at
SPDO and Le Tuan Linh from Phoenix
Voyages have been the masterminds along
with Edouard Dana of Editions Riva.
Why should people take part?
For the uniqueness of the site. But also to
discover the country of Cambodia and to
run among its beautiful landscapes. It is also
the first time the event is being held. We are
also organising an 8km humanitarian walk
to help raise funds to help the surrounding
villages.
Who is able to take part?
It is open to anyone and offers different
types of event like the 32 km Nordic walking
and short 8 km charity run.
How can travel agents and tour operators
become involved?
We have prepared special packages for tour
operators and agents who want to send
participants to the event. They will also be
able to sell race bibs and additional tours in
Cambodia. We are a member organisation
of ISTAA, an international association of
sports agencies.
www.cleverhotel.org
Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport / Worldwide Edition N°27 / September - November 2015 35