A total of 553,794 national and international tourists were recorded during the three-day (Mar. 15-17) of River Festival in Siem Reap province, according to a report of the Siem Reap Provincial Tourism Department. Of the registered number, the source pointed out, 33,770 were foreign visitors and some 520,000 were national tourists and local people. Some 160,272 tourists were counted on Mar. 15, 296,279 on Mar. 16, and 96,243 on Mar. 17, the report added. Held this year under the theme 'River for Peace and Development,' the River Festival, the 8th of its kind, featured art performances and concerts by national and international artists, a fireworks display, local products exhibition, a tourism fair, a Mekong food festival, and entertainment activities. The River Festival aims to further promote tourism potentials of the provinces along the river as well as to encourage the participation of local people in sustainable tourism development. River Festival is organised every year on a rotation basis by the r iparian provinces, and the first event was organised in Kratie in 2015, followed by the second in Stung Treng, the third in Kampong Cham and Thbong Khmum, the fourth in Kandal, the fifth in Kampong Chhnang, the sixth in Battambang, and the seventh in Kampong Thom. Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse