PHNOM PENH: Siem Reap cultural province of Cambodia has received the inaugural direct flight by China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai city of China, after the COVID-19 crisis.

The first flight using A320 with 132 Chinese tourists on board arrived at Siem Reap international airport yesterday evening with a warm welcome from H.E. Top Sopheak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Tourism, H.E. Yun Linne, Deputy Governor of Siem Reap province, and representatives of relevant institutions.

China Eastern Airlines will operate the Shanghai-Siem Reap route every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday.

According to H.E. Top Sopheak, Cambodia is expected to welcome some 4 million foreign visitors this year, including 800,000 to 1,000,000 Chinese tourists. Siem Reap alone would receive about 30 percent of the Chinese tourists expected to visit Cambodia in 2023.

Currently, Siem Reap International Airport registered an average of 250 flights per week and an average of 3,400 tourists per day.

Cambodia aims to attract 4.3 million international tourists in 2023, up from 2.3 million in 2022. January alone, Cambodia received about 400,000 international tourists, of which 25,000 were Chinese, up 901 percent compared with the same period in 2022.