The income derived from the visit of 529,160 national touristsand 7,385 international travellers to the ecotourism areas located in 22communities of 12 protected areas in eight provinces across Cambodia.
Neth Pheaktra was quoted by local media agency AKP as sayingthat this does not only contribute to national economy but also promoteCambodia’s ecotourism potential and the love and protection of theenvironmental and natural resource among the locals – indicating noticeableincrease compared to 2018 and 2019.
Cambodia’s ecotourism areas cover 35,003 hectares of the landsurface in the provinces of Rattanakiri, Kampong Speu, Koh Kong, Pursat, PreahVihear, Kampong Thom, Kampot and Kampong Chhnang.
Neth Pheaktra expressed his confidence on the government’sstrategy to boost ecotourism which is sustainably creating more jobs, improvinghousehold income, and reducing illegal logging.
He thanked all concerned players in ecotourism as well asdomestic and foreign visitors which are the demand and supply sidesindispensably bringing the industry to a new level.
In 2019, the ecotourism sites received 402,293 touristsgenerating about 18.90 million USD, and in 2018 they welcomed 343,852 visitors andearned about 16.16 million USD.
A report from theCambodia’s Ministry of Tourism showed that the Southeast Asian country onlyreceived over 1.24 million foreign visitors in the first nine months of 2020, afall of 74 percent year on year. For the whole year, the country is likely towelcome about 1.32 million foreign tourists, down 80 percent over the sameperiod last year./.