Main attraction: Tourists visiting the Angkor Wat temple complex. The Unesco World Heritage Site is located in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. — AFP
THE country recorded some 2.57 million international visitors in the first half of 2023, a sharp increase of 409% from 506,762 over the same period last year, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said.
Thailand topped the chart among the international arrivals to the South-East Asian country during the January-June period this year, followed by Vietnam, China, Laos, and the United States, he said on Monday.
“About 910,000 foreign tourists visited Cambodia by air, up 279%; 1.63 million by land, up 526%; and 30,000 by waterways, up 586%,” he said in a report.
He added that the kingdom welcomed a total of 10,635 international flights in the first half of this year.
“Based on our latest forecast, Cambodia will be able to receive up to five million international tourists in 2023, an expected increase of 120% from 2.27 million in 2022,” he said.
Khon said the number of foreign visitors to Cambodia is predicted to reach seven million in 2025, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 6.6 million in 2019.
“The recovery of the tourism sector has importantly contributed to our country’s post-pandemic economic growth, which is forecast at 5.6% this year,” he said.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy, in addition to garment export, agriculture and construction and real estate. — Xinhua
