PHNOM PENH, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen opened the sixth River Festival in northwestern Battambang province on Saturday evening, aiming at promoting river potential and local products to tourists.
Speaking to thousands of festival-goers, Hun Sen said the Southeast Asian country is rich in natural resources and encouraged people to help protect environment and natural resources along the rivers for tourism.
"The festival is crucial to attract tourists to provinces with rivers," he said during the opening ceremony of the festival and his speech was live broadcast on BTV News channel.
"It is also to show the potential of Cambodian rivers to tourists," he added.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen said that due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of foreign tourists to Cambodia dropped by 30.5 percent during the January-February period this year.
The three-day annual festival, held under the theme "River of Peace, River of Prosperity," kicked off on Friday with the official opening ceremony being held on Saturday.
Tourism Minister Thong Khon said at the event, tourists could enjoy art performances, product and food exhibitions, and sports activities, among others.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting the country's economy.
The country in 2019 earned approximately 4.91 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from 6.61 million foreign visitors, up by 12.4 percent from the previous year, according to a Tourism Ministry report.
Tourism contributed 12.1 percent to the kingdom's Gross Domestic Product growth last year and employed up to 630,000 people.
