Angkor Wat temple (Source: VNA)Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia hopes to welcome 7.5-8 million foreign visitors by 2020, the Cambodia Daily quoted Secretary of State for Tourism Pak Sokhom as saying on May 4.
Speaking at a meeting with domestic and ASEAN tourism experts in Siem Reap on May 3, Pak said the tourism sector contributes 16 percent of the country’s gross domestic product per year.
Last year, Cambodia greeted over 4.8 million tourists from across the world, with 74 percent from Asia-Pacific, 18.3 percent from Europe, and 7.2 percent from America.
In the first two months of this year, the country served more than 910,000 visitors, up 2.7 percent annually.
According to the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, a tourism strategy for 2016-2020 has been outlined, focusing on Chinese travellers with a publication entitled “China Ready” while multiple visas for the Chinese will be extended, towards attracting 2 million Chinese to the country.
If the goal of drawing nearly 8 million visitors by 2020 is achieved, Cambodia’s state budget will increase by 5 billion USD and more than 1 million jobs will be generated.-VNA
