The country welcomed 5.57 million international tourists last year, of which more than 1.2 million were Chinese tourists, up 41.5% year-on-year, Hak said at the launch of the 10th China-Cambodia Mobile Film Tour.

China was the second-biggest source of foreign holidaymakers to the Southeast Asian country after Vietnam.

This figure not only demonstrates the recovery of the tourism sector, but also serves as a clear testament to the confidence and high value placed by Chinese tourists on Cambodia, which is a safe and warm tourist destination with cultural diversity, Hak said.

Cambodia’s forthcoming pilot visa-free policy for Chinese nationals will become a catalyst for greater prosperity and lasting progress for the two nations, he added.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy in addition to garment, footwear and travel goods export, agriculture, and construction and real estate.

The country has five UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park, the Temple of Preah Vihear, the Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, the Koh Ker archaeological site, and the Cambodian Memorial Sites.

Besides, it has a pristine coastline stretching for about 450 kilometers in four southwestern provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep, and Koh Kong.