Cambodia Expects Tourism Business to Increase 3 pct in 2009

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

2009-03-15
Xinhua

Cambodia still expects a top line of three percent increase of tourism business in 2009, even in face of the global financial crisis, national media said on Sunday.

If the government takes adequate measures to counter the crisis, a three percent rise can be expected in 2009, Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News on Sunday quoted Tourism Ministry officials as saying.

However, if estimated in a conservative or even pessimistic way, the industry might hit its bottom this year, with a minus three percent rise, according to the officials at a seminar.

After all, the financial downturn has led to mass unemployment, especially in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, and much fewer people can afford overseas trips now, they added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Thong Khon told a press conference that foreign tourist arrivals in Cambodia dropped by 2. 19 percent in January, compared with the same month in 2008.

Cambodia received around two million foreign tourist arrivals in 2008, a 5.5 percent rise over 2007, but slightly lower than the government's expectation, according to official figures.