CAMBODIAN officials have drafted a document to award a “clean city standard” to aspiring towns and villages as a method of boosting international tourism, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Tuesday.

Some 150 officials from the Ministry of Tourism, NGOs, and the private sector, met in Phnom Penh to examine a draft document on the clean city awards – which officials hope will increase development and attractiveness of the Kingdom’s cities and towns.

“We are drafting the document on clean cities not only to attract tourists but also to attract investors,” Thong Khon said.

“Cleanliness is the most important factor tourists want,” added Boris Viallet, head of tourism for the Acting Life Organisation.

In the first five months of this year, 1,054,821 tourists visited the Kingdom, an 11.53 percent increase on last year, according to the Tourism

Minister.

Ministry of Tourism deputy director general Neb Samouth anticipated there would be 29 indicators used to evaluate whether applicants were worthy of the designation.

Cambodia launched a similar clean resort standard in 2009.