Vietnamese top list of foreign arrivals in Cambodia

More than 79,700 Vietnamese visited Cambodia over the past three months, marking an increase of 49 percent over the same period last year, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon (pictured) said Vietnamese tourists outnumbered visitors from the Republic of Korea (RoK) to account for the largest part of foreign visitors to Cambodia in the first quarter of this year.

About 62,600 RoK visitors came to Cambodia in the reviewed period, a remarkable reduction from 97,500 in the corresponding period last year, said the tourism ministry.

To lure visitors in time of the global economic crisis, the Cambodian Tourism Ministry has turned to less-affected countries in addition to promoting new eco-tours.

The ministry has especially streamlined entry-exit procedures for tourists from the neighbouring countries of Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, allowing them to enter the three Cambodian border provinces with laissez-passers and stay for a week instead of three days as applied before.

Chairman of the Cambodian Travel Association, Ang Kim Eang, was optimistic that political stability would help bring more foreign visitors to his country.