Some 2.6 Million Foreign Tourists Visit Cambodia in H1

Cambodia attracted some 2.6 million international tourists in the first six months of 2024, an increase of 22 percent compared to the same period last year, a Ministry of Tourism’s report showed.

Thailand topped the chart among foreign arrivals to the Kingdom with 770,371, followed by Vietnam (528,252), China (326,003), it pointed out.

Other countries ranked among the top ten tourism markets for Cambodia during the said period included Laos, the U.S., Korea, Indonesia, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

H.E. Sok Soken, Minister of Tourism, has recently said that in 2024, China ranks third among countries with the largest number of tourists visiting Cambodia.

‘The growth of Chinese tourism is an important opportunity that not only promotes the development of Cambodian tourism, but also creates investment opportunities in various sectors,’ he underlined.

At the same time, added the report, some 740,000 Cambodians travelled abroad for tourism purpose, a year-on-year increase by 2.9 percent.

Tourism is
one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy, in addition to garment, footwear and travel goods export, agriculture, and construction and real estate.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of international visitors to Cambodia is predicted to reach 7 million by 2025, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 6.6 million in 2019.

Four of Cambodia’s tourist destinations have been recently listed among the top 25 Asia’s best tourist attractions in the latest award by Tripadvisor.

Angkor Wat of Siem Reap took second place in the award, and Ta Prohm and Bayon Temples of the province made it to the 19th and 20th, respectively, while Phnom Penh’s Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum obtained 22nd place.

Besides ancient temples, the Kingdom has a 450-kilometre-long pristine coastline stretching across four southwestern provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse