Phnom Penh, Sep 27 (IANS) Cambodia recorded some 3.5 million international tourists in the first eight months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 250.8 per cent, Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Wednesday.

He released the figures in a message to mark the World Tourism Day 2023 under the theme "Tourism and Green Investments", reports Xinhua news agency.

"With our Visit Cambodia Year 2023 campaign, Cambodia is projected to receive approximately 5 million foreign tourists in 2023, an expected rise of 120 per cent (from 2.27 million in 2022)," Hun Manet said.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of international visitors to the Southeast Asian country is predicted to reach 7 million in 2025, surpassing the pre-Covid pandemic level of 6.6 million in 2019.

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 has four world heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park in the northwestern Siem Reap province, the Sambor Prei Kuk Archaeological Site in the central Kampong Thom province, and the Preah Vihear Temple and the Koh Ker Archaeological Site, both in the northwestern Preah Vihear province.

Besides, Cambodia boasts a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four southwestern provinces of Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong.