Cambodia’s tourism industry, one of the nation’s major earners, posted slow growth in the first six months of 2015.
According to the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, the number of
international tourists arriving in the country upped just 4.4 percent
against the same period.
Most of the visitors
came from China, the Republic of Korea, the United States, Vietnam, the
United Kingdom, France, Malaysia and Germany.
Siem Riep with its world-famous Angkor Wat drew more than one million
tourists in the first half of the year, up 1.6 percent from one year ago
and generating 3.1 million USD in revenue from entrance ticket sales.
The Cambodian Minister of Tourism cited the
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, the economic
crisis in Russia and the efforts to counter the Islamic State as main
reasons behind the decline.
Cambodia has been forecast to welcome only 4.8 million tourists this year, instead of its goal of over 5 million.-VNA