Tourist arrivals, garments may lift Cambodia economy

PHNOM PENH, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Tourist arrivals in Cambodia rose in July after dipping slightly in the first half, and garment sales to Asia are picking up, officials said on Friday, suggesting a slump in the economy might be contained.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast the economy would shrink 0.5 percent this year after expanding 5.5 percent in 2008, which was a sharp slowdown from four years of double-digit growth.

The number of tourists visiting the country in the first six months of 2009 dropped 1.1 percent from last year to 1.08 million, but in July arrivals rose 13 percent from a year before to 106,528, according to tourist ministry data. Click to read more...