PHNOM PENH, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will launch a "one tourist, one tree" campaign next month in order to promote green tourism and environment protection, tourism minister Thong Khon said Tuesday.
"The campaign will be put into practice on Feb. 27 during the national celebration of the clean cities," he said at a consultative workshop on the development of mechanism to support" one tourist, one tree"campaign.
He said the tree-planting campaign will be a new and attractive tourism product and will provide a good memory for tourists. "It can be a magnet to attract tourists to re-visit Cambodia in order to see attractive destinations and trees grown by their own hands,"he said.
It would also encourage tourists to contribute to protecting environment, and reducing climate change, global warming and other natural disasters, he added.
Tourism is one of the major four pillars supporting Cambodian economy. Thong Khon said the country welcomed some 3.5 million foreigners last year, up 25 percent year-on-year.
He said the sector earned over 2 billion U.S. dollars last year.
"We predict that the industry will attract about 4 million international tourists this year,"he said.
The Southeast Asian nation is rich in cultural and eco-tourism. It has two world heritage sites: One is Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province and the other is Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province bordering Thailand.
Besides, it has a pristine coastline stretching in the length of 450 kilometers in four provinces of Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot and Kep. The coastline was officially recognized as one of the world's most beautiful bays in May, 2011.
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