Gems and jewelry industry to boost tourism

Cambodia is promoting gems and jewelry industry to boost foreign tourists arrival in the Asian nation, an official said Monday. "Gems and Jewelry sector is an industry playing an important role for tourist attractions, which complements tourist activities, "said Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh. However, he said, it is important that "tourists are well protected from the substandard and fake products." "There is a need for having in place quality assurances program product testing, inspection and certification to ensure that all jewelry products sold in Cambodia are of specified quality and standard." The minister made the remarks while opening the country's first gem laboratory, invested by the London-based checker of rare gems and jewelry Intertek. Khut Sothy, country manager of Intertek Cambodia, said that to date, Cambodia had been lacking in assurances in proper quality of gems that concerns some buyers. "In Cambodian market, almost no one checks the quality when they buy gems and they usually just believe in the sellers. If the sellers say the gem is good, then just believe them." According to Khut Sothy, there have been cases of complaints by foreign buyers. The laboratory is established to strengthen the quality of gems and jewelry products in Cambodia, to comply with international standards and to build the trust of consumers as well as to prevent fraud of qualities. Tourist industry provides approximately 2.5 million international tourists arrivals every year, especially at the Angkor Wat heritage temples and gems and jewelry sector plays an important role in attracting tourists in the country, he added.