Cambodia to build Chinatowns, lure more tourists  

(ECNS)-- The Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia plans to build Chinatowns in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Preach Sihanouk to attract more Chinese visitors, according Cambodia.s Sin Chew Daily.

A report from Cambodia's Tourism Ministry on Monday showed that China is the third largest tourist source to the country following Vietnam and South Korea.

The ministry has developed a five-year strategy to attract 1.3 million Chinese tourists by 2018, which includes building Chinatowns, preparing Chinese-language arrival-departure cards and notice boards at airports, writing sign on roads in Chinese, and training more Chinese speaking tour guides.

There were about 231,000 Chinese visitors to Cambodia in the first half of the year, up 55 percent compared with last year.

Kong Sopheareak, head of the Statistics and Planning Department at the ministry, said the significant growth is mainly due to direct flight connections, popular tourist attractions and cordial ties between both countries.

Last year, Cambodia received 334,000 Chinese visitors, up 35 percent year-on-year.