Kampot is promoting its coastal scenery, regional cuisine and locally made products as Cambodia's Green Season tourism campaign reaches the province, linking rainy-season travel with gastronomy, agriculture, handicrafts and community businesses. More than 1,000 participants attended the Coastal Green Season Tourism Event 2026, while Cambodia recorded 1.75 million international tourist arrivals in the first half of 2026, according to government data cited by the Ministry of Tourism.
Key Facts
Destination: Kampot province
Campaign: Coastal Green Season Tourism Event 2026
Theme: “The Potential of Gastronomy Tourism and the Beauty of the Coastal Region during the Green Season”
Participants: More than 1,000
Focus: Tourism, gastronomy, agriculture, handicrafts and community products
Tourism message: Encourage domestic and international travel during the rainy season
International arrivals: 1.75 million in the first half of 2026
National campaign: Green Season tourism promotion across several Cambodian regions
Next stage: The 2026 Green Season series is expected to conclude in Phnom Penh in late October or early November
Kampot Puts Green Season Tourism in the Spotlight
Kampot has become the latest destination featured in Cambodia's nationwide Green Season tourism campaign, with the province highlighting the relationship between coastal travel, local food and community-made products.
Tourism Minister Huot Hak encouraged both domestic and international visitors to travel around Cambodia during the rainy season during the closing ceremony of the Coastal Green Season Tourism Event 2026 in Kampot.
He described the Green Season as an opportunity for visitors to experience Cambodia's landscapes, cuisine and hospitality during a period traditionally associated with heavier rainfall.
The campaign seeks to shift perceptions of the rainy months by presenting them as a distinct tourism season with their own attractions and experiences.
Gastronomy Takes Centre Stage in Kampot
The Kampot event was organised under the theme “The Potential of Gastronomy Tourism and the Beauty of the Coastal Region during the Green Season.”
Gastronomy was a central part of the programme, with regional specialities presented alongside Kampot's coastal environment.
The approach connects food with destination marketing, allowing visitors to experience local cuisine as part of their overall travel experience rather than as a separate activity.
For Kampot, this provides an opportunity to promote the province through a combination of scenery, food, culture and local enterprise.
Local Products Connect Tourism With Community Businesses
An accompanying exhibition showcased a range of locally produced goods, including:
Community products
Farm produce
Handicrafts
Souvenirs
Food products
The Ministry of Tourism said the exhibition reflected Kampot's identity, traditions and livelihoods, while highlighting the skills of local producers.
The event also provided producers with an opportunity to present their products directly to visitors, expand market access and build stronger connections between tourism, agriculture and community enterprise.
Tourism Can Create Markets for Local Producers
The connection between tourism and local production is particularly important for regional businesses.
Visitors spend not only on accommodation and transportation but also on food, souvenirs, agricultural products, handicrafts and other locally made goods.
By placing local producers within tourism events and destination promotion, the campaign seeks to connect visitor demand with community businesses.
For Kampot, gastronomy provides a natural bridge between tourism and agriculture, while handicrafts and locally produced goods offer additional opportunities for visitors to take part of the destination's identity home with them.
More Than 1,000 Participants Join Kampot Event
More than 1,000 people attended the event, including senior government officials, provincial authorities, tourism associations, tourism operators, community representatives and content creators.
The participation of different groups reflects the campaign's wider approach to tourism development.
Rather than focusing solely on attractions, the initiative brings together government, tourism businesses, communities and producers to promote the destination and its economic activities.
Content creators also provide a channel for showcasing Cambodia's Green Season landscapes and experiences to wider audiences.
Promoting Cambodia During the Rainy Season
Tourism Minister Huot Hak described the promotion of the rainy period as the “Green Season” as a change in mindset and national tourism strategy.
The Ministry of Tourism is presenting the season as a period when visitors can experience lush landscapes, cleaner air and distinctive travel experiences.
For destinations outside Cambodia's traditional peak tourism periods, encouraging travel during the Green Season can also help distribute visitor activity more evenly throughout the year.
The campaign therefore combines destination marketing with an effort to strengthen domestic tourism and support tourism businesses during the rainy months.
From Heritage to Ecotourism and the Coast
The 2026 Green Season campaign has travelled through several regions of Cambodia.
After launching in Phnom Penh, the campaign moved to Siem Reap, where it promoted the country's heritage attractions.
It then travelled to the north-east, highlighting ecotourism before reaching Kampot to focus on coastal tourism, gastronomy and local products.
This regional approach allows the national campaign to present different dimensions of Cambodia's tourism offering.
The emphasis changes according to the destination—from cultural heritage to nature-based tourism and, in Kampot, coastal landscapes and food.
Tourism, Heritage and National Pride
The campaign also carries a broader message about civic participation and heritage conservation.
Its messaging includes the banners “Tourism Connects Us to Our Land” and “To Love Our Nation, We Must Know Our Land.”
These themes encourage Cambodians to discover destinations within their own country while building awareness of Cambodia's cultural and natural heritage.
Domestic tourism can also help communities benefit directly from visitor spending while encouraging residents to engage more closely with the preservation of local attractions.
Cambodia Records 1.75 Million International Visitors
The Green Season campaign comes as Cambodia continues to attract international visitors.
According to government data cited in the source, Cambodia welcomed 1.75 million international tourists during the first half of 2026.
The figure provides a broader context for the government's efforts to diversify tourism experiences and encourage travel beyond the country's most established destinations.
For provinces such as Kampot, attracting visitors during the Green Season can provide opportunities to increase tourism activity while promoting local products and services.
What Makes Kampot's Green Season Offer Different?
Kampot's campaign focuses on the combination of coastal scenery, gastronomy and locally produced goods.
This gives the province a tourism proposition that extends beyond sightseeing.
Visitors can potentially combine coastal experiences with food, agricultural products, handicrafts and community-based activities.
The model also provides local producers with greater visibility among visitors and tourism operators.
Green Season Campaign to Conclude in Phnom Penh
The 2026 Green Season tourism series is scheduled to conclude in Phnom Penh in late October or early November.
The conclusion will follow the campaign's regional activities and provide an opportunity to reinforce its broader message of promoting Cambodia as a destination throughout the year.
The campaign's progression from Phnom Penh to heritage destinations, north-eastern ecotourism areas and Kampot's coastal attractions reflects an effort to present different reasons for visiting Cambodia during the rainy months.
What Happens Next for Kampot Tourism?
The longer-term value of the Green Season campaign will depend on whether increased destination awareness translates into sustained visitor activity and greater income for local businesses.
For Kampot's tourism sector, the strongest opportunity may lie in connecting attractions with local supply chains.
Hotels, restaurants, tour operators, farmers, food producers and handicraft businesses can potentially benefit when visitors spend more time in the province and purchase locally produced goods.
Maintaining these connections beyond individual promotional events could help strengthen the economic impact of tourism at the community level.
Angkor Times Analysis
Kampot's Green Season promotion illustrates how destination marketing is increasingly moving beyond individual attractions. By combining coastal scenery with gastronomy, agriculture and handicrafts, the campaign presents tourism as an ecosystem connecting visitors with local businesses and producers.
The focus on local products is particularly relevant for regional economic development. Tourism can create direct markets for food, agricultural products, souvenirs and handicrafts, but the benefits are stronger when local producers are connected effectively with hotels, restaurants, tour operators and visitors.
The broader Green Season strategy also gives Cambodia an opportunity to position the rainy months as a distinct travel period rather than simply a low season. Whether that repositioning produces sustained growth will depend on continued destination promotion, visitor experiences and the ability of local businesses to convert tourism demand into longer-term economic opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cambodia's Green Season tourism campaign?
It is a national tourism promotion initiative designed to encourage domestic and international travel during Cambodia's rainy months by highlighting the country's natural, cultural and regional attractions.
What is Kampot promoting during the Green Season?
Kampot is promoting its coastal scenery, gastronomy and locally made products, including food, farm produce, handicrafts and souvenirs.
What was the theme of the Kampot event?
The event was held under the theme “The Potential of Gastronomy Tourism and the Beauty of the Coastal Region during the Green Season.”
How many people attended the Kampot event?
More than 1,000 participants attended, including government officials, provincial leaders, tourism associations, operators, community members and content creators.
How can local producers benefit from tourism?
Tourism creates potential markets for locally produced food, agricultural products, handicrafts, souvenirs and other goods by connecting producers with visitors and tourism businesses.
How many international tourists visited Cambodia in the first half of 2026?
Cambodia welcomed 1.75 million international tourists during the first half of 2026, according to government data cited in the source.
Which Cambodian destinations were featured before Kampot?
The campaign launched in Phnom Penh, travelled to Siem Reap to promote heritage attractions, and then moved to the north-east to highlight ecotourism before reaching Kampot.
When will the 2026 Green Season campaign conclude?
The series is expected to conclude in Phnom Penh in late October or early November 2026.