PHNOM PENH: More than 3.74 million international visitors were registered in Cambodia in the first seven months of this year, up 23.2 percent compared to the same period of 2023, a Ministry of Tourism’s report showed on Thursday.

Thailand topped the list of foreign arrivals to Cambodia during the said period with 1,147,534 visitors, the source added, stressing that Vietnam, China, Lao PDR, the U.S., the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan were among the top ten market arrivals in the January-July 2024 period.

Some 1.34 million foreign visitors, or about 36 percent of the total foreign arrivals, arrived in Cambodia by air, a year-on-year increase of 26.4 percent, and the rest via land border gates and waterways, up 21.5 percent, the report continued.

Phnom Penh capital was the most attractive tourism destination for foreign tourists, followed by Siem Reap cultural province and the coastal zone, it underlined.

At the same time, the ministry reported that the number of Cambodia’s outbound tourists rose by 5.9 percent to 1,069,078.

Mr. Thim Sereyvuth, Acting Director of the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Tourism told AKP on Aug. 23 that Siem Reap province is keen to see more tourists as their visits will contribute to the country’s economic growth and local development.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy, in addition to garment, footwear, and travel goods exports; agriculture; and the construction and real estate sectors.

Last year, the Kingdom received some 5.45 million foreign visitors, earning a gross revenue of US$3.08 billion. AKP