Posted on November, 14 2025

Cambodia’s tourism industry—representing roughly a fifth of national GDP before COVID-19—was among the hardest hit by the pandemic. The sharp decline in tourist arrivals severely affected hotel operations, community-based eco-tourism (CBET) enterprises, and thousands of livelihoods, especially women working in the sector. At the same time, tourism’s heavy reliance on fossil-fuel-based electricity and outdated cooling technologies made it a major contributor to carbon emissions and operating costs. Recognizing these twin challenges, WWF-Cambodia launched the Cool & Solar Project to “build back better” by demonstrating that clean, efficient energy can both lower costs and make tourism more sustainable.

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