Hundreds of thousands of tourists visited the Angkor Archaeological Park this year, with the Angkor Wat temple complex the most popular draw. -- AFP
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park received 602,570 foreign visitors during the first 10 months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 256%, said a news release on Wednesday (Nov 1).
The ancient site made US$27.88mil in revenue from ticket sales during the January-October period this year, a year-on-year rise of 312%, said the news release from the state-owned Angkor Enterprise.
In October alone, the park welcomed 63,009 foreigners, earning US$2.92mil in revenue from ticket sales, the statement added.
The Ministry of Tourism's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Top Sopheak is strongly confident that the Chinese-invested Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, which started its commercial operations on Oct 16, would attract more international tourists to the Angkor park.
"This 4E-level international airport is crucial to helping boost the country's tourism, economy, trade, investment," he said. "We hope it will attract new international airlines, so they will bring more tourists and investors to Siem Reap province, the home of the Angkor."
Located in northwest Cambodia, the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1992, and it is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation. -- Xinhua
