Dr. Thok Sokhom is Cambodia Secretary of State of Tourism in charge of International Cooperation.

Professional Experience and Government Office

2023 to Present: Secretary of State of Tourism appointed by a Royal Decree
2018-2022: Under Secretary of State of Tourism appointed by a Royal Decree
2015-2018: Advisor (Director General) to the Ministry of Tourism and Director of Department of International Cooperation and ASEAN by Royal Decree
2014-2024 Elected as the Board of Directors of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
2011-2024: Elected as Vice President of the World Toilet Association (WTA)
2007-2018: Director of the Department of International Cooperation and ASEAN
2007-2011: Elected as the Board of Directors of the World Toilet Association (WTA), Republic of Korea
2007-2011: Incremental Executive Deputy Director for the Tripartite-financed UNWTO, AECID Spanish Agency, SNV Dutch Mekong Discovery Trail Project International Cooperation and ASEAN
2007-2004: Deputy Team Leader and Specialist for Pro-poor, Community-based Tourism Development
2004-1999: Legal Consultant of an ADB Loan-financed Project
1995-1999: Official Skills/Advanced Administrative Skills Trainer at UNESCO-established Cambodia Communication
National Consultant as Deputy Team Leader for the sub-component of loan-financed Mekong Tourism Development Project
1993-1994: Military Officer ranked Lieutenant Colonel at the Ministry of National Defense
1991-1994: Freelance interpreter/translator (English, French and Khmer) for UNAMIC, UNDP, LWS etc.
1987-1990: Police officer at the Department of Border Protection, Ministry of Interior

Academic and Educational Background
Hungary:
2016-2018: Dual PhD in International Law
(i) Milton Friedman University; and
(ii) Alfred Nobel Open Business School
2015-2016: Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy
Alfred Nobel Open Business School in Hungary
1996-2001: License en Droit Public at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE)
1996-1999: Brevet Superieur en Droit at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE)
1999-2012: Advanced Diplomas in tourism management and planning in Spain, China, Australia, Korea, Singapore etc.

International Publications-Co-author:
2016: Co-author of the ASEAN Community Based Tourism Standards https://www.asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ASEAN-Community-Based-Tour
2015: Sustainable Tourism and Its Use as a Development Strategy in Cambodia: A Systematic Literature Review (researchgate.net; Independent.academia.edu; tandfonline.com etc.) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277689 983_Sustainable_tourism_and_its_use_as_a_de velopment_strategy_in_Cambodia_a_systematic_literature_review
2015: Phnom Penh Post UNESCO Tentative World Heritage Sites
2014: UNWTO – the Potential for Cambodia to climate-proof its tourism sector (academia.edu researchgate.net; unwto.org etc.) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278037 157_Chapter_10_The_potential_for_Cambodia_t o_climate-proof_its_tourism_sector
2014: Coral reef and water quality status and community understanding of threats in the Eastern Gulf of Thailand (researchgate.net) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273061 964_Coral_reef_and_water_quality_status_and_community_understanding_of_threats_in_the_East ern_Gulf_of_Thailand
2007: UNWTO, SNV and MOT – jointly published a Mekong Diver Trail Project Phase I Masterplan for Tourism Development in Kratie Town
2005: ADB loan-financed Project: Guidebook for the Realm of Northeast Ecotourism, Dos and Donts Booklet, educational posters,

Lecturing Experience:
(1) National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations (NIIDIR) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – Strategy and Tacitus for Diplomatic Negotiations
(2) National University of Battambang (NUBB) – International Law (both Private and Public), International Relations and Diplomacy, International Trade Law and Legal English
(3) Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University
(4) Police Academy of Cambodia
(5) Build Bright University (BBU) in Phnom Penh – Legal English
(6) Key speaker at the University of Sunshine Coast (USC) and the University of Queensland (UQ) of Australia,
(7) Key speaker and moderator at many mega-international and regional tourism events (PATA, UN Tourism, UNESCO/UNTWO etc….)
(8) Key speaker at Australia’s University of Sunshine Coast, University of Queensland and Thai Community-Based Tourism Institute, Payap University