Preah Vihear to attract more tourists to Cambodia as World Heritage Site status

PHNOM PENH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian Association of Travel Agencies (CATA) expected that the Preah Vihear Temple in the eponymous province of the country will draw more tourists, as it has become a World Heritage Site, national media said Thursday.

"Just the novelty factor of the Preah Vihear Temple being on the list (of the World Herigage Site), it will attract more tourists from the world than before," CATA president Ho Vandy told local newspaper the Mekong Times.

However, urgent work needs to be done on the temple's tourism infrastructure and the private sector is ready to cooperate, he said.

Hang Soth, director general of the recently formed Preah Vihear National Authority (PVNA), said that the government is developing the infrastructure in the region.

"We are developing all sectors including roads, restaurants and accommodation for tourists," he added.

Last year, PVNA reported that about 300 to 400 domestic and foreign tourists visited the temple each day.

Most of the tourists currently approach the temple from the Thai side as Cambodia lacks adequate road access.

The Preah Vihear Temple, which straddles the Thai-Cambodian border atop the Dangrek Mountain, was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

The typical Khmer-style architecture was build in C.D. 10 to 12and is now situated some 117 km to the north of Phnom Penh.