Saturday, August 3, 2013

Cambodia attracts over 2 mln foreign tourists in first half


English.news.cn   2013-08-03 14:41:40            
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia received 2.09 million international visitors in the first six months of the year, up 19 percent compared with the 1.75 million tourists over the same period last year, figures from the ministry of tourism showed Saturday.
During the January-June period of this year, Vietnam still topped the list among the 10 countries that sent the most visitors to Cambodia, followed by South Korea, China, Laos and Thailand.
About 48 percent of the visitors travelled to Cambodia by air, 49 percent by land and the rest by waterborne traffic.
Tourism is one of the sectors supporting the economy in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation. Last year, the country received some 3.5 million foreigners, earning more than 2 billion U.S. dollars.
Tourism Minister Thong Khon told Xinhua that the sector was expected to greet 4 million foreign tourists this year, a 12 percent rise year-on-year.
He said the general election on Sunday last week did not affect tourists thanks to the country's full security and sound political stability.
Cambodia is well-known for its 12th century Angkor Wat Temple, a world heritage site, which is situated about 315 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
The temple received up to 1.12 million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, up 6 percent year-on-year.
In addition, the country has a pristine coastline, which boasts one of the world's most beautiful bays. It stretches in the length of 450 kilometers through four provinces of Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot and Kep.
Editor: Fu Peng

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