Tourists to Cambodia's Preah Vihear heritage site up 53 pct in first quarter

PHNOM PENH, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's world heritage Preah Vihear temple greeted 63,610 local and foreign visitors in the first half of 2014, up 53 percent over the same period last year, a report from the Preah Vihear provincial tourism department showed Tuesday.

The temple welcomed about 56,870 local visitors and 6,740 foreigners during the January-June period this year, up 56 percent and 28 percent respectively, compared with the same period last year, the report said.

You Sovan, deputy chief of the Preah Vihear provincial tourism department, attributed the growth to the temple's world heritage status and good security at the temple.

"I think that the temple can be Cambodia's 2nd largest tourist destination in the future after the Angkor Wat world heritage site, " he said.

Preah Vihear, a Hindu temple, is situated on the top of a 525- meter cliff in the Dangrek Mountains bordering Thailand.

The temple had been a flashpoint of armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops between 2008 and 2011 because Thailand claimed the ownership of 4.6 square km of land next to the temple.

The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in November that Cambodia has sovereignty over the whole territory of the promontory of Preah Vihear temple, and ordered Thailand to withdraw its armed forces from that territory.

So far, the two countries have not started talks over the implementation of the ICJ's ruling due to Thailand's political trouble.