Hanoi (VNA) – Some887,039 Chinese tourists came to Cambodia in the first four months of 2019, up37 percent from the same period last year, Xinhua news agency reported, citing areport announced on June 6 by the Cambodian tourist ministry.
China is still the largestsource of foreign tourists to Cambodia, accounting for 36.7 percent of thetotal foreign arrivals to the kingdom during the January-April period thisyear, the data said.
Cambodia welcomed a total of2.41 million foreigners in the reviewed period, up 11 percent on a yearly basis,it said.
Xinhua reported that Cambodian TourismMinister Thong Khon said at a Cambodia-China culture and tourism event in PhnomPenh on June 5 that China is a huge market for Cambodia's tourism industry.
"We hope to attract about2.6 million Chinese tourists in 2019, 3 million in 2020, 5 million in 2025 andup to 8 million in 2030," he was quoted as saying by the Chinese newsagency.
Last year, the country received6.2 million foreign tourists including 2 million Chinese, earning gross revenueof 4.35 billion U.S. dollars, Thong Khon said, adding that tourism contributed12.7 percent to the country's GDP (gross domestic product) last year.-VNA