Cambodia and China officially launched tourism year 2025 on Friday evening, with a joint special cultural performance titled "Charming Jiangsu, Colorful Cambodia".
Speaking at the launch of the "Cambodia-China Tourism Year 2025" held at the iconic Chaktomuk Theater in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Permanent Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Vongsey Vissoth said the tourism year would further deepen tourism cooperation between the two countries.
"The tourism year 2025 will become a new key catalyst for tourism relations, connectivity, and people-to-people ties, which are indispensable foundations for achieving the building of a Cambodia-China community with a shared future," he told an audience of about 800.
"It will enable the two countries to promote their cultures, customs, traditions, arts, tourism potentials and glorious and diverse civilizations broader," he added.
Vissoth said Cambodia saw the tourism sector as "green gold" as it has contributed to socio-economic development, environmental and cultural heritage protection, economic growth and poverty reduction.
"Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonder, is ready to welcome and provide warm hospitality to Chinese tourists and investors to Cambodia," he said.
Vissoth said he has visited many attractions in China, including the Classical Gardens of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, the imperial Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, and the Grand Canal, and was impressed by the richness of Chinese civilization and history.
"I believe that the splendid civilizations of China and Cambodia have passed through time and shined brightly for each other," he said.
Cambodian Tourism Minister Huot Hak said the tourism year was highly consistent with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the spirit of the ironclad friendship between Cambodia and China.
"It not only reflects the stability and sustainability of bilateral relations, but is also an important practice in implementing the Cambodia-China 'Diamond Hexagon' cooperation framework," he said.
Hak said to celebrate the year, both sides will jointly organize a series of colorful celebration activities such as music festival, street art performance, martial arts show, gastronomy, tourism conference, tourism business matching forum, goodwill ambassador exchange program, and film festival, among others.
According to the minister, Cambodia received a total of 2.4 million international tourists in the first four months of 2025, a 14 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Of them, more than 380,000 were Chinese visitors, up 49 percent compared to the same period last year.
"Based on this good trend, I firmly believe that the 'Cambodia-China Tourism Year' will surely become an important opportunity to attract more Chinese tourists to Cambodia and deepen tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries," he said.
"This will not only effectively consolidate the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries and enhance the solidarity and friendship between the peoples, but also inject strong impetus into building an all-weather Cambodia-China community with a shared future," he added.
Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin said the tourism year will inject positive momentum into friendly exchanges between the two countries, and will write a wonderful chapter in China-Cambodia tourism cooperation.
"The China-Cambodia Tourism Year will provide more convenience for Chinese tourists to travel to Cambodia," he said.
"Take this opportunity, I'd like to sincerely welcome Cambodian friends to visit China in order to explore the magical charm of ancient China, to discover the rapid development of modern China, and to feel the warm and friendly hospitality of the Chinese people," he added.
During a two-and-a-half-hour event, Chinese and Cambodian artists jointly presented the special cultural performance themed "Charming Jiangsu, Colorful Cambodia".
The artists performed a variety of their traditional dances, songs, acrobatics, and operas, and each of the performances drew hearty rounds of applause from the audience.
Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the tourism year emphasized the great potential for enhanced tourism cooperation between the two Asian countries.
"It will encourage both citizens to travel to each other's countries, revitalize post-pandemic tourism and deepen people-to-people bonds," he told Xinhua.
Neak Chandarith, director of the Cambodia 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said the tourism year will inject stronger impetus into the development of the tourism sector and more Chinese tourists are expected to travel to Cambodia.
"The Cambodia-China Tourism Year will foster a shared regional identity, strengthen people-to-people ties and ensure inclusive and resilient growth," he told Xinhua.