Cambodia is hoping that Chinese tourists will drive its tourism growth when the world is cleared of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said on Saturday.

Khon said the COVID-19 pandemic had made profound impact on the country’s tourism. However, he was optimistic that Chinese tourists would support the kingdom’s tourism growth when the coronavirus is over.

The minister said mutual help and trust between the two countries in the fight against COVID-19 has not only deepened bilateral ties, but also earned praise from the two countries.

China has become the largest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia since 2017. Cambodia’s tourism industry, which amounted to 4.92 billion U.S. dollars, is currently being hit hardest by the ravaging pandemic. A tourism data showed that Cambodia received a total of 223,400 foreign tourists in March, a decrease of 65 percent over the same month last year.