The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism has launched an online system to verify the validity of certificates in the tourism industry.
The ‘e-certificate system’ aims to strengthen the quality of service in the local tourism industry by combating “fake” certificates used to cheat tourists, the Khmer Times reported on Wednesday.
Through the initiative, tourism professionals that receive training from the ministry, provincial tourism departments or registered training schools will be issued a certificate with a QR code. Customers visiting a restaurant, hotel, or other tourism-related business can scan the QR code in their premises to access information about the establishment’s certificate and other relevant information.
Speaking at the system’s launch at Phnom Penh Hotel on Monday, Nep Samuth, director-general of the Ministry of Tourism, said the e-certificate helps the ministry manage the information of tourism professionals, ensuring the efficiency and quality of tourism services.
“Each certificate issued after training with the Ministry of Tourism, a provincial tourism department, or a partner school will now have a QR code. Customers can simply scan this QR code using their smartphones to access information about the certificate and the business,” Samuth said.
Samuth said the scheme was necessary because many tourists do not trust the certificates found on some establishments in the kingdom.
“Because of this, the Ministry of Tourism has created a new mechanism for providing training and issuing certificates with reliability,” he said.
Luu Meng, co-chairman of the Government-Private Sector Tourism Working Group, welcomed the initiative and said that fake certificates damage the country’s reputation.
“It is important to protect the image and reputation of tourism certificates. Through the QR code scheme, it will be easy for tourists to access relevant information about the certificates and other important information of service providers,” Meng said.
“By strengthening the quality of our professionals, we hope to improve our service to tourists.”
Eighteen schools are participating in the e-certificate system. All provincial tourism departments and partner schools have received technical assistance from the ministry to implement the e-certificate system.