Cambodia tourist arrivals top two million in 2007

Thursday, January 3, 2008
AFP

PHNOM PENH -- Tourist arrivals to Cambodia topped two million in 2007, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said Wednesday, adding that the country hopes to attract more visitors this year by expanding its attractions.

"We hit our target" for tourist arrivals last year, he told AFP, saying the two-million mark represented a jump of nearly 20 percent over 2006 figures.

While most foreigners still flock to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples, officials are seeking to create more destinations for visitors, he said.

Two million tourists in 2007

02-01-2008
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

2007 has registered a spectacular growth in the number of visitors to Cambodia. The government is congratulating itself for the improvements of the welcoming conditions for tourists in the kingdom.

Thong Khon, the minister of tourism, just announced that, in 2007, two million of tourists visited Cambodia. A spectacular number which Thong Khon hopes to see it increasing by 20 to 25% in 2008. This success would have been made possible by the reinforcement of security, airline links which have been clearly improved, and the construction of new hotels. Like the previous years, the bulk of tourists came from South Korea, followed by Japan, China and the USA.

The celebration of the New Year also contributed a lot. Thog Khon judged them to be very successful this year, especially in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, where, Say Hak, the Sihanoukville governor, claimed that the 3,000 available hotel rooms were not sufficient to accommodate everyone. In Phnom Penh, the concert organized by the city hall and the Cambodiana Hotel was a hit. Three thousands people came to watch it at Wat Phnom park.

Cambodia achieves 19.9% increase in visitor arrivals for Jan-June ‘07 [-Where do all the revenues go?]

Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Travel Blackboard (Australia)

For the first six months of 2007, Cambodia’s international visitor arrivals increased 19.91 percent to reach 975,349. The Siem Reap Province alone attracted 615,445 visitors or 63.1 percent of the total share. Meanwhile, Phnom Penh and other destinations had brought in a total of 359,903 visitors, accounting for 36.90 percent of the total.

The latest figures for June also reveal that 66.56 percent of visitors arrived in Cambodia by air, which is 35.8 percent higher than the previous year. This includes flights scheduled through the Phnom Penh and Siem Reap International Airport, which attracted 26.3 percent and 40.26 percent of total visitors respectively.

Visitors who travelled to Cambodia by land or waterways made up the remaining 33.44 percent of visitors. Individually, visitors by land comprised of 262,420, with a share of 26.91 percent while waterways accounted for 2.13 percent of the total.

South Korea maintained its leading position as Cambodia’s top inbound market, accounting for 20.45 percent of the total, which is an increase of 34.13 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2007. Japan ranked second with 76,442 visitors and achieved a 7.85 percent increase against the previous year. The US was Cambodia’s third largest inbound market with 68,379 arrivals, accounting for 7.01 percent of the total number of visitors.

Taiwan achieved a 78.39 percent increase in its visitor numbers to Cambodia, while inbound visitors from Vietnam jumped 63 percent. Visitors from China on the other hand also increased 57.52 percent as did visitors from Thailand which grew 27.22 percent. Arrivals from Malaysia also increased 11.14 percent.

Even though most tourists come to see Angkor Wat, Cambodia does not get much income from Sok Kong's company ticket sales

Cambodian tourist arrivals up by 20 per cent in first half of 2007

Fri, 20 Jul 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - Tourist arrivals to Cambodia for the first half of the year rose by nearly 20 per cent and a further rise was expected for the next half, Tourism Minister Thong Khong said Friday. Speaking by telephone, Thong Khong said the country's open skies policy, which had seen direct flights from South Korea, China, Japan and other destinations mushroom in the past two years, as well as a healthy return tourism rate had helped lift the figures.

He said 975,349 tourists had arrived in the kingdom from January to June 2007, compared to 813,392 in the same period last year - a rise of 19.91 percent.

"Many visitors are repeat visitors, and often they go home and bring their families and friends when they return," Thong Khong said.

"Security, a balanced tourism policy and open skies have certainly helped drive tourist numbers up, and with the European vacation period set to begin soon, we expect a further rise in the second half of the year."

Around 1.7 million tourists visited Cambodia in 2006.

Tourism Ministry statistics showed that 56 per cent of tourists came for the magnificent Angkor Wat temple complex in the north of the country, but that significant numbers were also choosing to visit the capital, Phnom Penh, and the pristine beaches near Sihanoukville in the country's south-west.

As was the case last year, South Koreans were the dominant nationality choosing Cambodia as a destination, with Japanese also making up a significant proportion.

The Cambodian economy relies heavily on tourism as a source of foreign currency, although some conservationists have warned that the skyrocketing tourist arrivals are taking a heavy toll on the ancient Angkorian temples, which were mainly built between the 8th and 12th centuries.

Number of tourists to Cambodia up 20 pct in first half of 2007

July 17, 2007

The number of tourists visiting Cambodia has increased about 20 percent in the first half of 2007, Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said here on Monday.

For the first six months in 2007, there were 975,349 tourists visiting Cambodia, increasing 19.91 percent compared to the same period in 2006, Thong Khon said at a press conference held outside the Angkor Wat temple.

Out of this number, there were 598,929 foreign visitors to Siem Reap, which is 51.49 percent up compared to the same period in 2006, he added.

In 2006, there were 1,700,041 international tourists to Cambodia, which increased at 19.59 percent compared to the same period in 2005, Thong Khon said, adding that of all foreign visitor arrivals in 2006, 50.38 percent visited the Siem Reap Angkor complex.

Tourism, together with garment production and agriculture, is pillar industry for the kingdom.

Source: Xinhua

Cambodian tourist arrivals up 20 percent in first four months

Tuesday May 29, 2007

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Tourist arrivals to Cambodia rose 20 percent in the first four months compared to the same period last year, Tourism Minister Thong Kong said Tuesday.

Some 710,000 arrivals were recorded between January and April, he said, boosted by an increase in travellers from neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Vietnamese arrivals jumped 70 percent, while the number of Thais visiting Cambodia went up 38 percent, he told AFP.

Thailand and Vietnam "are among the top 10 countries" for arrivals, Thong Khon said.

"Tourists from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and other countries ... increase every year," he said, adding that visitors from South Korea and Japan still make up the largest number of foreign tourists.

Tourism is one of the few money-spinners in Cambodia, one of the world's poorest countries, and the government hopes to attract three million visitors by 2010.

Cambodia has recently increased the number of direct flights to the country and last week inked a deal with Yangon to begin air links from Bagan and Mandalay, Myanmar's top tourist stops, to Cambodia's Angkor temple town, Siem Reap

Cambodia recorded about 1.7 million arrivals in 2006, bringing 1.4 billion dollars in revenue.

"We have peace, good security ... and our tourist destination is safe," Thong Khon said.