Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State and Spokesperson for the country's Environment Ministry says Cambodia earned USD 25.21 million from ecotourism services in the first nine months of 2020.
Income from the visit of 529,160 national tourists and 7,385 international travelers to ecotourism areas in eight provinces around Cambodia, located in 22 communities in 12 protected areas.
Local media agency AKP quoted Neth Pheaktra as saying that this not only adds to the national economy but also supports the ecotourism potential of Cambodia and the love and protection of the local natural resources and the environment, indicating a noticeable increase compared to 2018 and 2019.
Cambodia's eco-tourism areas cover 35,003 hectares of land in the provinces of Rattanakiri, Kampong Speu, Koh Kong, Pursat, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Kampot, and Kampong Chhnang.
Neth Pheaktra expressed his trust in the government's policy to boost ecotourism, which creates more jobs in a sustained future, improves household income, and reduces illegal logging.
He thanked all the eco-tourism players concerned, as well as domestic and international tourists, who are the demand and supply sides, bringing the industry to a new level.
Ecotourism sites received 402,293 tourists in 2019, generating approximately USD 18.9 million, and welcomed 343,852 tourists and earned approximately USD 16.16 million in 2018.
A report by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia showed that in the first nine months of 2020, the Southeast Asian country only received over 1.24 million international tourists, a decline of 74 percent year on year. The country is likely to welcome about 1.32 million foreign tourists for the whole year, down 80 percent from the same period last year.
Source: en.vietnamplus.vn