Cambodia's outbound tourists increase by 33% in H1

The number of Cambodia's outbound travelers had seen a significant rise of 33 percent to 389,000 in the first half of 2012 from only 293,100 during the same period last year, according to the statistics of the Tourism Ministry on Tuesday.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Government-Private Working Group on Tourism Policy, said Tuesday that most Cambodian visitors have traveled to ASEAN countries thanks to visa exemption agreements and geographical proximity and others have visited China including Hong Kong, Macau, Kunming, and Shanghai.

Among ASEAN member states, they prefer to go to Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, said Ho Vandy, who is also the president of World Express Tour and Travel Company.

He attributed the rise of Cambodian outbound travelers to improving cost of living of Cambodian people and direct flight connections between Cambodia and those countries.

Cambodia has the population of 14.5 million. By the end of 2011, Cambodian per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was $911, according to a report of the finance ministry. However, there is a wider income gap between the rich and the poor.

Sourced: globaltimes