June 05, 2008
Nearly one million Cambodians visited foreign countries last year, the Mekong Times newspaper said Thursday, citing the first ever Tourism Ministry report on Cambodian tourists.
Vietnam and Thailand were the most popular destinations, according to the report revealed Wednesday.
Kong Sopheareak, director of the Department of Statistics and Tourism Information at the ministry, said similar figures were expected this year.
"This indicates that Cambodia's economy and living standards have increased significantly," he added.
Cambodia, with a population of about 14 million, has never before compiled statistics about how many Cambodians make trips abroad.
However, Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), opined "the outflow of Cambodian tourists visiting abroad does not provide benefits to Cambodia."
"We do not want Cambodian tourists to visit abroad as it can cause a loss of much revenue," he said.
"The government should develop tourism sites and resorts well like neighboring countries to curb the outflow of tourists and take in tourism revenue to further develop tourism," he added.
A CATA survey found that Cambodian tourists spend an average of500 to 800 U.S. dollars per trip.
Source: Xinhua
Nearly one million Cambodians visited foreign countries last year, the Mekong Times newspaper said Thursday, citing the first ever Tourism Ministry report on Cambodian tourists.
Vietnam and Thailand were the most popular destinations, according to the report revealed Wednesday.
Kong Sopheareak, director of the Department of Statistics and Tourism Information at the ministry, said similar figures were expected this year.
"This indicates that Cambodia's economy and living standards have increased significantly," he added.
Cambodia, with a population of about 14 million, has never before compiled statistics about how many Cambodians make trips abroad.
However, Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), opined "the outflow of Cambodian tourists visiting abroad does not provide benefits to Cambodia."
"We do not want Cambodian tourists to visit abroad as it can cause a loss of much revenue," he said.
"The government should develop tourism sites and resorts well like neighboring countries to curb the outflow of tourists and take in tourism revenue to further develop tourism," he added.
A CATA survey found that Cambodian tourists spend an average of500 to 800 U.S. dollars per trip.
Source: Xinhua
No comments:
Post a Comment