The Bokor Resort, in Kampot province, attracted 162.5 per cent more Cambodian tourists to the province in the first five months of the year compared with 2011, tourism officials said yesterday.

About 420,000 Cambodians visited the seaside province between January and May, up from 160,000 during the same time in 2011, Soy Sinol, the director of Kampot’s Department of Tourism, said.

The opening of the resort at the beginning of May was the main attraction bringing local tourists to the area, he said.

The number of Cambodians pouring into the province was greater than both Water Festival and Phchum Ben, a traditional festival in early autumn.

International tourist numbers, however, increased by only one per cent during the first five months of this year.

About 8,900 foreigners had visited the province during that period, Soy Sinol said.

The Bokor resort would need more time to draw international visitors from Vietnam and Thailand, Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]