PHNOM PENH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has seen a 54.5 percent surge in the number of Chinese tourists during the first 11 months of 2024, said a Cambodian Ministry of Tourism's report released on Monday.

A total of 769,775 Chinese visitors traveled to the Southeast Asian country during the January-November period this year, up 54.5 percent from 498,250 over the same period in 2023, the report said.

The number of Chinese tourists accounted for 12.8 percent of the total 6 million international tourist arrivals to Cambodia during the first 11 months of this year, the report said, adding that China was the third-biggest source of foreign holidaymakers to the kingdom after Thailand and Vietnam.

Cambodia's Tourism Minister Huot Hak said the growth of Chinese tourists is an important opportunity, not only to boost the development of the tourism industry, but also to create investment opportunities in other sectors.

"The future of Cambodia's tourism industry is inseparable from the inflows of Chinese tourists and investors," he said.

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 received 5.45 million international tourists in the entirety of 2023, generating a gross revenue of 3.08 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Tourism. ■