Arrivals to Angkor gain in Q1

Siem Reap provincial tourism department reports visitors to Angkor Wat, January to March, reached 694,700, an 8% increase over the same period last year.

For the first quarter of this year, South Korea, China and Vietnam were the top three strongest markets according to the report released Wednesday.

South Korea led the field increasing 8% to 142,040 followed by China with a growth of 77% to 87,104, but Vietnam declined 39% to 45,760 visits.

In addition, Thai visitors increased 28% to 28,300, while Laos supplied 27,350 visits representing a slight growth of 1%.

Siem Reap provincial tourism department administration chief, Chhoeuy Chhorn, told Chinese media Xinhua: “China overtook Vietnam to become the second largest tourist source during the first three months of this year.”

The sharp rise in Chinese tourists to Cambodia was mainly due additional direct flights between Cambodia and China and the support of promotional tours.

The government-private sector working group on tourism co-chair, Ho Vandy, said an easy visa process, direct flights and stronger promotions in Chine helped to create demand.

“In the tourism working group, we have studied the visa application and how to make it easier to apply for Chinese visitors.”

In addition, he said he is not too concerned by the drop in Vietnamese visitors and expects the year-end figures to increase.

The entrance fees to Angkor Wat are US$20 for international visitors per day, US$40 for a three-day visit, and US$60 for a week visit.

Last year, Angkor Wat attracted 2.06 million foreign visitors, up 27.95% compared to 1.61 million in 2011.

The temple was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992.

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