Battle of the Skies Lures Tourists
- By Kim Makara
- February 23, 2024 11:55 AM
PHNOM PENH – Paramotor sports has emerged as a potential way to draw tourists to Cambodia.
Paramotors use a paraglider wing and a harnessed engine. Pilots take off on foot and fly alone. This has attracted interest from local people and visitors.
A sport has emerged in which pilots pit their skills against others.
The sport includes a range of competitions, including figure-of-eight slalom; paramotor soccer; accuracy in landing at slow and fast speeds, speed tests, efficiency, control and precision.
“We need to double check the wind, cords and the machine and warm it up before flying,” instructor Ly Sokhy said. “We also need to think about the weather. If the weather is not good, we cannot fly.
“This sport requires people who have good health, good intelligence and emotional intelligence, time to train and to focus on the training,” Sokhly added.
Teng Pengseang, president of the Paramotors Federation, said he learned about the sport from Thailand. Now he can promote it in Cambodia, and now the federation has about 20 trainees. Some of whom can fly and some are still learning.
“In 2004, there were many foreigners, such as British and Japanese, who came to practice paramotor at Sihanoukville,” he said.
“I came to China to watch paramotor sports. About 50 countries came to see this sport. Paramotor sport is so popular.”
Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam also have the while it is more popular in Europe. If this game develops well in Cambodia, it can attract more tourists, he said.
The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia created the Paramotor Federation in 2013 and got support from the Ministry of Sport and Education.
“Nowadays, some athletes can fly well, and when the international competition is held, they will call us to join so we can send the people who can fly well there,” he said.
Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this article was translated by Nhor Sokhoeurn for Cambodianess.
