SIEM REAP – Cambodia on Saturday launched the Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign in the northwestern province, aiming to draw more visitors to its tourist attraction the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park.
Addressing the launching event with thousands of participants, which was held together with the official opening ceremony of the eighth River Festival, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the campaign was designed to revitalize the tourism industry in Siem Reap province in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
“The Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign, together with the 2024 Cambodia-China people-to-people exchange year and the Cambodia-India tourism year, will give a boost to the tourism sector in Siem Reap province, attracting more foreign tourists to Cambodia,” he said.
According to Hun Manet, the Chinese-invested Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI), which started commercial operation last November, is becoming a potential magnet by facilitating the trip of international tourists to the Angkor park in particular and to Cambodia in general.
The prime minister also encouraged tourism officials, local authorities and tour agents to organize various tourism activities to support the campaign.
Tourism Minister Sok Soken said the campaign would inject new momentum into the local tourism sector, helping attract more international tourists, particularly to the Angkor park.
“The Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign is one of our major measures to revitalize the tourism industry in Siem Reap province,” he said.
Siem Reap is home to the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992.
Angkor park, the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian country, is home to 91 ancient temples built over a time span from the 9th to the 13th centuries.
The ancient site received nearly 800,000 international visitors in 2023, earning 37.1 million U.S. dollars in revenue from ticket sales, according to the state-owned Angkor Enterprise.
However, the figures were compared to 2.2 million foreign tourists the park received in the pre-pandemic era in 2019, with a gross revenue of 99 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales.
