PHNOM PENH, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has recorded a 50 percent increase in the number of Chinese tourists in the first five months of 2025, said the Ministry of Tourism's latest report released on Tuesday.

A total of 488,973 Chinese visitors traveled to the Southeast Asian country during the January-May period of this year, up 50 percent from 326,003 over the same period last year.

The number of Chinese tourists accounted for 16.6 percent of the total 2.95 million international tourist arrivals to Cambodia, the report said, adding that China was the third-largest source of foreign holidaymakers to the kingdom after Thailand and Vietnam.

"I firmly believe that the Cambodia-China Tourism Year 2025 will surely become an important opportunity to attract more Chinese tourists to Cambodia and deepen tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries," Cambodian Tourism Minister Huot Hak said in a recent speech.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, said Chinese tourists are crucial for Cambodia's tourism industry.

"The current cooperation between Cambodia and China in tourism is promising, with growing numbers of Chinese visitors contributing significantly to our economy," he told Xinhua.

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. ■