More Chinese tourists are expected to visit Cambodia because of the signing of a deal between the two countries to promote package tours.
Tourism Minister Veng Sereyvuth, who led an eight-member delegation to Beijing, and his counterpart He Guan Wei, chairman of the Chinese National Tourism Administration, last week signed a memorandum of understanding on boosting Chinese tourists to Cambodia, the minister said Monday.
According to the delegation, China selected Cambodia as the fifth “approved destination” in Asia for Chinese tourists. With the new deal, the Chinese National Tourism Administration will appoint 66 travel agents to handle outbound package tours while Cambodia will select about 10 travel agents as their partners to receive such tourists. The deal also requires Cambodia to simplify paperwork on tourist visas for Chinese. “It’s a major step for Cambodia’s tourism,” Veng Seryvuth said.
Jimmy Gao of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia said Monday that China sent four to five million tourists overseas last year and nearly one million visited Thailand. “Cambodia is ready to receive many tourists from the huge market,” he said.
The Tourism Ministry hopes the deal be finished by December , expecting 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese to arrive annually.
