Siem Reap International Airport yesterday achieved its passenger target of two million arrivals, set earlier this year.

Cambodia Airports, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, had welcomed and congratulated the two millionth visitor to land at Siem Reap International Airport this year, Pak Sokhom, under-secretary of state for the Ministry of Tourism, said.

He said the occasion marked a record for the Siem Reap International Airport, as this year was the first in which it had processed two million arrivals.

“Our special visitor flew in from Singapore with Silk Air. He arrived in Cambodia at 4:30pm, and his name is Lee Kui Bao,” Pak Sokhom said.

“Our staff had counted him as the two millionth visitor when he boarded the aircraft, but we didn’t let him know in advance,” he added, saying that Lee Kui Bao was surprised to see many people welcoming him.

Pak Sokhom said it was Lee Kui Bao’s first visit to Cambodia.

“When he arrived inside the airport, our staff welcomed him with a Khmer song called Welcome to Cambodia and applauded him as a congratulations,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said during the East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Forum, which concluded yesterday, that in the first 10 months of this year Cambodia’s international tourist arrivals had reached 2.8 million – an increase of 23.7 per cent.

Of that figure, 1.6 million landed in Siem Reap, a 57 per cent increase for the airport.

“We expect to receive 3.3 million international tourists by the end of this year, of which Siem Reap will process around two million,” he said.

Bun Tharith, Siem Reap’s deputy governor, said he was delighted to see such a surprising event, but on behalf of the Siem Reap authorities, he would do all he could to provide the best security for tourists who visited Siem Reap province.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thik Kaliyann at [email protected]