Hun Sen made the appeal on Saturday in a speech at Preah Sihanouk during the opening ceremony of the 16th World Congress of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World-Bays Club, which was attended by nearly 130 delegates representing 34 bays from 21 countries and regions.
“No tourist risks travelling to a country at war,” he said.
“Peace has played a pivotal role for national development, and has built a strong hope for our people.”
Hun Sen added that with the presence of peace and successful control of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of foreign tourists to Cambodia is expected to reach the pre-pandemic level in 2026 or 2027, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We expect to be able to receive around 11 million domestic tourists in 2023…and around 7 million international tourists until 2026 or 2027,” he said.
In the pre-pandemic era, the Southeast Asian nation recorded 6.6 million international tourists in 2019, generating a total revenue of $4.92 billion.
Tourism is one of the four major pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy. The country is well-known for its world heritage sites, including the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province.
Besides, it has a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four southwestern provinces, namely Preah Sihanouk, Kep, Kampot and Koh Kong.
–IANS
int/khz/