According to a report released by the Ministry of Tourism on Thursday, the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia rose 45.6% year-on-year in the first seven months of this year.
A total of 463,980 Chinese visitors travelled to Cambodia in the January-July period, up 45.6% from 318,498 in the same period last year. Chinese tourist arrivals accounted for 12.4% of the total 3.74 million international arrivals in Cambodia during the period. China was the third largest source of international visitors after Thailand and Vietnam.
Top Sopheak, secretary of state and spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, said the Kingdom is keen to see more Chinese tourists as their visits have contributed to the country’s economic growth and tourism development.
Yen Samnang, a researcher at the Phnom Penh-based independent think tank Asian Vision Institute, said that with the help of the Year of People-to-People Exchange, Cambodia is expected to further boost Chinese tourist arrivals and investment:
“It is believed that this initiative, along with other existing free-trade pacts, will become a key driver of tourism promotion and economic cooperation, attracting not only tourists but also Chinese investors to the Kingdom, leading to job creation and infrastructure development,” he said.
With Xinhua
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