Foreign visitors to Cambodia reach 2 million in 2007

PHNOM PENH , Feb. 12 KYODO
About 2 million overseas tourists visited Cambodia in 2007, an increase of 18.53 percent from the previous year, the government said Tuesday. South Koreans topped the list at 329,909, followed by Japanese at 161,973, Americans at 137,539 and Vietnamese at 125,442, according to government statistics. Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat temple complex, attracted 1,120,586 foreign tourists in the year, an amazing growth of 30.83 percent from the previous year's 856,510. Tourism Minister Thong Khon told Kyodo News on Tuesday he hopes Cambodia will receive about 2.4 million tourists this year. He said that in 2007, income from the tourism sector was about $1.4 billion, contributing around 10 percent to Cambodia 's gross domestic product. He added tourism is the second-biggest sector in the GDP, after the garment sector. The garment industry contributed about $2.9 billion to GDP last year. Thong Khon said the annual growth in tourism was due to the political stability, strengthened services, better infrastructure and easier transportation along with promotions made by both the government and private sectors.
KyodoFebruary 12, 2008