Foreign tourists to Cambodia’s Angkor up 2,224%

Phnom Penh, Nov 4 (IANS) Cambodia’s famed Angkor Archaeological Park received 169,349 international tourists in the first 10 months of 2022, up 2,224 per cent compared to the same period last year, said an official report on Friday.

The park made $6.76 million in revenue from ticket sales during the January-October period this year, up 2,155 per cent year-on-year, the state-owned Angkor Enterprise’s report revealed.

Holidaymakers from 125 countries and regions visited the site during the period, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

Located in the Siem Reap province, the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park, inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 1992, is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian country.

The Park contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century, including the famous Temple of Angkor Wat.

During the pre-Covidera, the Angkor park received up to 2.2 million international visitors in 2019, generating $99 million in revenue from ticket sales, the Angkor Enterprise said.

According to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday, high vaccination rates have in part helped revive the kingdom’s tourism industry.

He said Covid-19 vaccines have built herd immunity in Cambodia that has allowed the country to reopen its borders with confidence since late 2021.

–IANS

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