Cambodia's Angkor Wat attracts 2.06 mln foreigners, 2012

CAMBODIA'S Angkor Wat Temple, one of the World Heritage Sites, received 2.06 million foreign visitors last year, up 28 per cent compared to 1.61 million in a year earlier, China's Xinhua news agency said citing a tourism report released on Tuesday.

The top five countries visiting the country's largest cultural site are South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan and Thailand, showed the report of the Siem Reap provincial tourism department.

The temple greeted 339,530 South Koreans last year, up 23 per cent year-on-year; 220,050 Vietnamese, down 13 per cent; 184,965 Chinese, up 51 per cent; 134,630 Japanese, up nine per cent; and 129, 660 Thais, up 153 per cent.

Chhoeuy Chhorn, administration chief of Siem Reap provincial tourism department, attributed the remarkable rise of tourists to the temple to the country's full security and safety, more direct flight connections between Siem Reap City and other countries and broader tourism promotion. "It is expected that foreign visitors to the temple could grow by another 15 per cent this year," he told Xinhua via telephone.

Siem Reap's Angkor archeological park is situated about 315 kilometres northwest of Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

An entrance fee to see the temple is US$20 a day for a foreigner, US$40 for a three-day visit and US$60 for a weeklong visit.

Tourism is one of the major four pillars supporting the Cambodian economy. The others are garment industry, agriculture and real estate.

Sourced: Cambodian Information Center