Tourism Sector Earns US$700 Million in Q1

Cambodia’s tourism sector generated some US$700 million as income in the first quarter of this year, according to a report of the Ministry of Tourism.

During the January-March 2014 period, about 1.27 million foreign tourists visited the country, up 10 percent year-on-year, it underlined.

Of the total number of foreign visitors, 30 percent or 424,300 visitors were from other ASEAN member countries, an increase by 4 percent over the same period last year, it added.

Meanwhile, there were over 20,000 Cambodian outbound tourists, up 4 percent if compared with the same period in 2013, said the report, indicating that the most visited countries for Cambodian people are Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Korea and Japan.

The increase in Cambodian outbound tourists reflected better cost of living of Cambodian people and the Kingdom’s economic growth, said a Cambodian tourism expert.

Cambodia’s GDP per capita rose from US$760 in 2008 to nearly US$1,000 in 2012, and over US$1,000 in 2013.

Based on the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC)’s expectation, the Cambodian economy will grow by over 7 percent this year, while World Bank (WB) projected the country’s economic growth at 7.2 percent, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at 7 percent.

Sourced: AKP