PHNOM PENH, - The number of foreign
tourists visiting Cambodia in 2016 rose 5 percent to five
million, bringing in about $3 billion in revenue, the prime
minister said on Monday.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than
30 years, said he expected about 5.5 million tourists this year.
"Cambodia has clearly established itself as an attractive
destination for cultural and natural tourism," Hun Sen said at
an international tourism conference in Siem Reap province.
Hun Sen projected there would be seven million tourist
arrivals by 2020, which should earn the country $5.5 billion and
create 800,000 jobs.
Despite its beaches and Angkor temples, Cambodia long had a
reputation for war, genocide and violent political instability.
But it has been become a favourite with backpackers and
budget travellers over the past decade or so and has more
recently begun to establish itself as a luxury destination.
Foreign tourist arrivals rose 11.9 percent in the first
quarter of 2017, according to figures from the Tourism Ministry,
with a total of 1.5 million visitors from January to March.
Chinese tourists accounted for the biggest group of visitors
in the first quarter, data showed.
Kong Sopheareak, director of the Tourism Ministry's
statistics department, told Reuters that good ties between Phnom
Penh and Beijing had contributed to an increase in Chinese
arrivals.
"There are more direct flights now and Chinese tourists also
seek investment opportunities when they visit," he added.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre
and Robert Birsel)
Source: Reuters