Chinese tourists to Cambodia's Angkor Wat up 69 pct in first 7 months

Some 158,900 Chinese visited the World Heritage Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province in the first seven months of 2013, up 69 percent compared with the same period last year, figures from Siem Reap provincial tourism department showed Friday.
According to the figures, China was the second largest source of foreign tourists to the site during the January-July period this year as South Korea was the first largest arrival group with 223,200 visitors, up 4 percent year-on-year, while Vietnam came at third with 90,200 tourists, down 37 percent.
The figures shown that in the first seven months of the year, a total of 1.24 million foreigners visited the temple, up 6 percent year-on-year.
"We see a steadily sharp increase in Chinese tourists to the temple in recent years and believe that the upward trend will continue thanks to Cambodia-China close ties, more direct flight connection between the two countries, and broader promotion of the Angkor to the world," Chhoeuy Chhorn, administration chief of the Siem Reap provincial tourism department, told Xinhua on Friday.
The 12th century Angkor archeological park, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992, is the kingdom's largest cultural tourism destination. It is located about 315 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
An entrance fee to the site is 20 US dollars a day for a foreign visitor, 40 US dollars for a three-day visit and 60 US dollars for a week-long visit.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews