PHNOM PENH, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The number of domestic and foreign tourists traveling in Cambodia during the first three days of celebration of the Chinese New Year rose 6 percent to 947,497 from a year earlier, according to Tourism Minister Thong Khon on Friday.
He said in a report that 931,308 locals and 16,189 foreigners traveled in the kingdom during the period from Feb. 1 to 3.
Popular tourist destinations in the Southeast Asian country include the capital city of Phnom Penh, Angkor Archaeological Park in the northwestern Siem Reap province and the 440-km coastline stretching over four southwestern provinces.
"During the three-day festival, security, safety and public order had been maintained, and there were no any remarkable problems during the celebration," he said.
Although it is not an official holiday in Cambodia, the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is broadly celebrated in the Southeast Asian country.
Heang Leang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Culture and Fine Arts of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the Spring Festival has been gaining its popularity in the country.
He estimates that over 80 percent of the Cambodian people celebrate it. ■