Cambodia – Jobs: Siem Reap tourism puts 5,000 positions on the table
More than 100 companies offered over 5,000 jobs and internships on Friday at the first Tourism Employment Matching Forum, held at the Paul Dubrule School. The sector is hiring even though international arrivals have fallen by almost 44% over nine months.
A first tourism recruitment forum in Siem Reap
The idea is simple. Employers on one side, candidates on the other, and interviews on the spot. On Friday, 30 October, the Paul Dubrule Hospitality and Tourism School in Siem Reap hosted the first Tourism Employment Matching Forum. More than 100 companies offered over 5,000 jobs and internships in total, according to the Khmer Times.
Around 400 applicants met recruiters in the opening hours. Organisers expected close to 3,000 participants over the day, counting applications and interviews.
The stated aim is to narrow the gap between what training centres teach and what employers want. Companies need qualified staff. Young graduates need a first job.
Huot Hak calls for lifelong learning
Tourism Minister Huot Hak, who also chairs the National Committee for Tourism Professionals, opened the ceremony. He called on training centres, employers and state institutions to work more closely to build the sector's workforce. He said the forum should help match vocational training to what businesses actually need.
He also urged professionals not to stop at their diploma. The trade changes fast, and training has to continue throughout a career.
The minister handed certificates to graduates of the National Master Trainer and National Assessor courses in hotel services, and to graduates of the spa and wellness programme. Siem Reap Deputy Governor Ngov Sengkak attended, along with François Schnoebelen and officials from the Skills Development Fund and the National Employment Agency.
Hiring in a shrinking tourism market
The timing raises questions. Cambodia received 2.46 million international tourists in the first nine months of 2026, against 4.37 million a year earlier. That is a fall of 43.7%, according to Ministry of Tourism data reported by Xinhua.
In September, the ministry blamed the global economic crisis, rising fuel prices and what it called domestic challenges. The year 2025 had already closed with 5.57 million foreign visitors, down 16.9% year on year, for US$3.87 billion in revenue.
Hoteliers have long complained about a lack of skilled staff. Many trained workers left the sector during the pandemic and never came back. Hiring now means not chasing candidates on the day visitors return.
Paul Dubrule School: 24 years of hospitality training
The school was founded in 2002 in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism. It owes its existence to Paul Dubrule, co-founder of the Accor group, who cycled more than 15,000 kilometres to Siem Reap that year to open it. Its programmes are ASEAN-accredited. It says it has trained more than 6,000 graduates.
The change in scale is clear. In 2023, the career fair the school ran with the International Labour Organization listed around 600 openings, across all sectors and partly abroad. This year, tourism alone offered more than 5,000.
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