PHNOM PENH, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Travel website TripAdvisor has placed Cambodia's ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat as the world's No. 1 landmark in the 2018 Traveler's Choice Awards, the Apsara Authority, which manages the ancient site, said in a news release on Thursday.
The website used traveler reviews to select the world's top landmarks every year.
This was the third time the TripAdvisor named the Angkor Wat as the top landmark in the world after the first time in 2015 and again in 2017, the news release said, adding that besides, archaeological competition website ArchaeoMadness and travel guide book publisher Lonely Planet had also rated the ancient site as the world's top spot in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
"This is the pride for the Cambodian people, that the Angkor Wat of Cambodia has gained support from people around the world," said the Apsara Authority's news release posted on its Facebook page.
Located in northwest country's Siem Reap province, the 401-square-kilometer Angkor archeological park, inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1992, is the kingdom's most popular tourist destination.
The ancient site attracted 1.05 million foreign visitors in the first four months of 2018, up 11 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Angkor Enterprise, which is in charge of ticket sales.
Revenue from ticket sales to the foreign tourists reached 48.2 million U.S. dollars during the January-April period this year, up 23 percent over the same period last year.
China is the largest source of tourists to the historic site, followed by South Korea and the United States.
