Cambodia has an image problem that makes it difficult to attract tourists, tourism minister Veng Sereyvuth told a travel congress in Tokyo on Thursday.

While tourism is crucial to developing the Cambodian economy, many tourists are hesitant to visit the country. "That's why I'm here," Sereyvuth told the 13th JATA International Congress and Travel Mart, Japan's largest travel industry event.

Many Japanese people still believe that Cambodia, which suffered a long civil war, is covered in land mines, he pointed out. However, the country is now safe, he emphasized during an interview with The Japan Times the same day, because land mines are found only in areas close to national borders -- not in tourist spots.

The government sees tourism as a top priority because it is a means to generate jobs and bring in foreign currency, he said.

The number of tourist arrivals has been increasing, he said, pointing to an annual growth rate of between 20 percent and 30 percent in recent years. Some 470,000 tourists visited Cambodia in 2000, according to Sereyvuth.

That figure is forecast to reach 1 million in 2003, in line with the rapid development of the country's infrastructure, he said.

Japanese tourists are in the top five list in terms of number of visits, with 40,000 Japanese visiting the country in 2000, he said. Tourists from the United States hold the No. 1 spot, with 28,961 tourists arriving from the U.S. between January and September alone.

While statistics are not yet available to gauge the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. on the tourism industry, the ministry is nevertheless taking measures to attract more tourists from Asian countries in order to ease the impact, he said.

The attacks have already had an effect on package tours to Cambodia, according to industry sources.

"You can't find Osama bin Laden in Cambodia," Sereyvuth joked, underlining that his homeland has little to do with the terror attacks or the ongoing war in Afghanistan.