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Current issues concerning the sustainable tourism in Cambodia based on the action of Local Tourism State Actors (LTSA) in terms of Resources and Competences, particularly defining the roles of the LTSA, are systematically explored in this research. The LTSA are the director of provincial or city tourism department who take a lead role in managing a localized tourism industry of the government. The central research question focuses on the "Strategy towards Sustainable Tourism in Cambodia, according to the perceptions of the LTSA". In investigating to this context, the qualitative methods were used to collect primary data through in-depth interviews (semi-structured) with all the 25 LTSA. The data was further analyzed through a content analysis with a usage of NVivo10, a computer based program for coding or categorizing. The findings indicate that there are five main local challenges to Cambodia's sustainable tourism: (1) Professional Tourism Skills and Qualifications, (2) Working Attitudes of Managers and Employees, (3) Tourism Law, Regulations, and Circulars, (4) Finances and Facilities, and (5) Public Tourism Awareness and Participation. These challenges can be broadly categorized as personal, institutional, and external problems; particularly related to the lack of financial resources, and especially human resources in regards to both quality and quantity of professional tourism officials. In order to effectively transcend sustainable tourism and local tourism management challenges, state actors play important roles. Firstly they have an internal managing role as a local manager, and secondly they have an external cooperating role which is closely defined as a local ambassador. Moreover, the state actor should strive for a third role: referred to as the personal advancing role. This is where the managers become a learner in order to improve personal skills and capacity based on experiential learning. Personal advancing roles can be further augmented through self-directed studies, workshops, seminars, training and education. As highlighted in the findings and discussion section, the quality of managing and cooperating roles of LTSA are heavily dependent on personal advancing roles. The role of LTSA has significant influence on sustainable tourism because the manager is the most central actor dealing directly with all relevant sustainable tourism stakeholders, especially for their contributions to the policy and decision making. Thus, the continuous advancement of qualifications, effectiveness and efficiency of LTSA in implementing their role is a priority and highly needed. State actors should focus on personal advancing roles to enhance managing and cooperating roles. ; En ce qui concerne la perception du tourisme durable, on constate que les directeurs publics ont la même approche ou définition. Mais, en matière de stratégies, les moyens manquent dans tous les domaines pour développer un tourisme durable. De façon plus précise, les contraintes se résument aux cinq enjeux qui sont liés aux ressources humaines, aux méthodes de travail, au cadre juridique, à l'appui institutionnel et financier, et à la sensibilisation publique dans le secteur touristique du Cambodge. Ces insuffisances ont entraîné une exploitation peu réfléchie des potentiels de ressources touristiques et ont provoqué des fuites économiques élevées à l'étranger. Sans planification pensée à long terme, certaines attractions ne sont plus en mesure d'assurer leur durabilité, menant à la dévastation de trésors touristiques, à l'altération des valeurs socio-culturelles et d'identité nationale; ce mécanisme évolutif pourrait conduire à un développement incontrôlé contribuant à dégrader rapidement la communauté locale et l'environnement. Comme le ministère du Tourisme au Cambodge l'a souligné, s'il n'est pas correctement géré, le développement du tourisme permettra d'enrichir une petite minorité tout en excluant la majorité de la population du pays. Dans ces conditions, les directeurs provinciaux chargés du tourisme, en tant que représentants du ministère, jouent un rôle déterminant dans le tourisme durable et influencent directement à la fois le pouvoir politique et la prise de décision locale et même nationale. Leur rôle s'applique à la gestion interne et la coopération externe qui sont fortement dépendantes de la qualification personnelle des individus, c'est les « ressources et compétences ». Cependant, si les directeurs locaux sont aujourd'hui confinés dans un rôle plutôt de gestionnaires, avec de faibles moyens, nous estimons qu'ils pourraient devenir de véritables directeurs locaux susceptibles de faire travailler ensemble les acteurs dans le cadre d'une politique claire.

Current issues concerning the sustainable tourism in Cambodia based on the action of Local Tourism State Actors (LTSA) in terms of Resources and Competences, particularly defining the roles of the LTSA, are systematically explored in this research. The LTSA are the director of provincial or city tourism department who take a lead role in managing a localized tourism industry of the government. The central research question focuses on the "Strategy towards Sustainable Tourism in Cambodia, according to the perceptions of the LTSA". In investigating to this context, the qualitative methods were used to collect primary data through in-depth interviews (semi-structured) with all the 25 LTSA. The data was further analyzed through a content analysis with a usage of NVivo10, a computer based program for coding or categorizing. The findings indicate that there are five main local challenges to Cambodia's sustainable tourism: (1) Professional Tourism Skills and Qualifications, (2) Working Attitudes of Managers and Employees, (3) Tourism Law, Regulations, and Circulars, (4) Finances and Facilities, and (5) Public Tourism Awareness and Participation. These challenges can be broadly categorized as personal, institutional, and external problems; particularly related to the lack of financial resources, and especially human resources in regards to both quality and quantity of professional tourism officials. In order to effectively transcend sustainable tourism and local tourism management challenges, state actors play important roles. Firstly they have an internal managing role as a local manager, and secondly they have an external cooperating role which is closely defined as a local ambassador. Moreover, the state actor should strive for a third role: referred to as the personal advancing role. This is where the managers become a learner in order to improve personal skills and capacity based on experiential learning. Personal advancing roles can be further augmented through self-directed studies, workshops, seminars, training ...

Current issues concerning the sustainable tourism in Cambodia based on the action of Local Tourism State Actors (LTSA) in terms of Resources and Competences, particularly defining the roles of the LTSA, are systematically explored in this research. The LTSA are the director of provincial or city tourism department who take a lead role in managing a localized tourism industry of the government. The central research question focuses on the "Strategy towards Sustainable Tourism in Cambodia, according to the perceptions of the LTSA". In investigating to this context, the qualitative methods were used to collect primary data through in-depth interviews (semi-structured) with all the 25 LTSA. The data was further analyzed through a content analysis with a usage of NVivo10, a computer based program for coding or categorizing. The findings indicate that there are five main local challenges to Cambodia's sustainable tourism: (1) Professional Tourism Skills and Qualifications, (2) Working Attitudes of Managers and Employees, (3) Tourism Law, Regulations, and Circulars, (4) Finances and Facilities, and (5) Public Tourism Awareness and Participation. These challenges can be broadly categorized as personal, institutional, and external problems; particularly related to the lack of financial resources, and especially human resources in regards to both quality and quantity of professional tourism officials. In order to effectively transcend sustainable tourism and local tourism management challenges, state actors play important roles. Firstly they have an internal managing role as a local manager, and secondly they have an external cooperating role which is closely defined as a local ambassador. Moreover, the state actor should strive for a third role: referred to as the personal advancing role. This is where the managers become a learner in order to improve personal skills and capacity based on experiential learning. Personal advancing roles can be further augmented through self-directed studies, workshops, seminars, training and education. As highlighted in the findings and discussion section, the quality of managing and cooperating roles of LTSA are heavily dependent on personal advancing roles. The role of LTSA has significant influence on sustainable tourism because the manager is the most central actor dealing directly with all relevant sustainable tourism stakeholders, especially for their contributions to the policy and decision making. Thus, the continuous advancement of qualifications, effectiveness and efficiency of LTSA in implementing their role is a priority and highly needed. State actors should focus on personal advancing roles to enhance managing and cooperating roles. ; En ce qui concerne la perception du tourisme durable, on constate que les directeurs publics ont la même approche ou définition. Mais, en matière de stratégies, les moyens manquent dans tous les domaines pour développer un tourisme durable. De façon plus précise, les contraintes se résument aux cinq enjeux qui sont liés aux ressources humaines, aux méthodes de travail, au cadre juridique, à l'appui institutionnel et financier, et à la sensibilisation publique dans le secteur touristique du Cambodge. Ces insuffisances ont entraîné une exploitation peu réfléchie des potentiels de ressources touristiques et ont provoqué des fuites économiques élevées à l'étranger. Sans planification pensée à long terme, certaines attractions ne sont plus en mesure d'assurer leur durabilité, menant à la dévastation de trésors touristiques, à l'altération des valeurs socio-culturelles et d'identité nationale; ce mécanisme évolutif pourrait conduire à un développement incontrôlé contribuant à dégrader rapidement la communauté locale et l'environnement. Comme le ministère du Tourisme au Cambodge l'a souligné, s'il n'est pas correctement géré, le développement du tourisme permettra d'enrichir une petite minorité tout en excluant la majorité de la population du pays. Dans ces conditions, les directeurs provinciaux chargés du tourisme, en tant que représentants du ministère, jouent un rôle déterminant dans le tourisme durable et influencent directement à la fois le pouvoir politique et la prise de décision locale et même nationale. Leur rôle s'applique à la gestion interne et la coopération externe qui sont fortement dépendantes de la qualification personnelle des individus, c'est les « ressources et compétences ». Cependant, si les directeurs locaux sont aujourd'hui confinés dans un rôle plutôt de gestionnaires, avec de faibles moyens, nous estimons qu'ils pourraient devenir de véritables directeurs locaux susceptibles de faire travailler ensemble les acteurs dans le cadre d'une politique claire.