PHNOM PENH, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park received 110,570 foreign tourists in the first eight months of 2022, up 17.6 times compared to the same period last year, said a press statement on Saturday.
The ancient park earned 4.44 million U.S. dollars in revenue from ticket sales during the January-August period this year, also up 17 folds year-on-year, said the state-owned Angkor Enterprise's statement.
Located in the northwest Siem Reap province, the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992, is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian country.
The entrance fee for a one-day visit to the park is 37 dollars, a three-day visit costs 62 dollars, and a week-long visit costs 72 dollars.
In a bid to encourage more foreign tourists to the site, the government on Thursday announced that foreign residents of Cambodia who have been living in the kingdom for more than two years could apply for one free admission a year to the Angkor and the Koh Ker Temple, starting from Sept. 1 onwards.
Long Kosal, deputy director-general of the Apsara National Authority, predicted that the Angkor will attract more international tourists throughout this year and next year as the COVID-19 pandemic has waned.
"As our country has reopened its borders to all travelers without quarantine, I believe that more foreign tourists will spend their holidays at the Angkor," he told Xinhua.
During the pre-pandemic era, the Angkor received up to 2.2 million international visitors in 2019, generating 99 million dollars in revenue from ticket sales, according to the Angkor Enterprise. ■
