In the first half of 2024, Cambodia tourism has witnessed a spectacular recovery after the pandemic. According to the latest figures from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, the country of pagodas welcomed more than 3.7 million international visitors, an impressive growth of 23% compared to the same period last year. Notably, tourists from Vietnam and Thailand contributed half of this number, affirming their position as the two largest tourist source markets of Cambodia.
Cambodia’s favorable geographical location has made it an attractive tourist destination for visitors from neighboring countries, especially Thailand and Vietnam. According to the latest statistics, the number of tourists from these two countries has far surpassed other major markets such as China, the US, South Korea and Japan.
The number of nearly 2 million visitors from Vietnam and Thailand, an increase of more than 20% over the same period, shows the undeniable attraction of Cambodia tourism to tourists from the two countries.
Thailand leads with nearly 1.15 million visitors, followed by Vietnamese tourists with nearly 758,000, accounting for over 20% of foreign visitors to Cambodia. Notably, the number of Vietnamese tourists to Cambodia in the past 7 months has increased by over 37% compared to the same period last year.
The number of foreign tourists to Cambodia is increasing steadily again, but has not yet reached the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 6.6 million. According to a report by the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, in 2023, Cambodia welcomed a total of 5.45 million international tourists, an increase of 139.5% compared to 2022, of which the largest number were Thai tourists with 1.8 million, followed by Vietnamese tourists with more than one million.
Of the total international visitors, 1.8 million came to Cambodia by air and about 3.5 million came by land, the rest by sea. Foreign tourists to Cambodia in 2023 brought in over 3 billion USD in revenue for the country.
Cambodia launched the Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024 and the "Visit Siem Reap 2024" campaign earlier this year, aiming to revive the tourism industry in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy.
"These initiatives will boost tourism, attracting more foreign tourists to Cambodia in general and to Angkor Archaeological Park in particular," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said at the launch of the "Visit Siem Reap 2024" campaign in March.
Phnom Penh is the most attractive tourist destination for foreign tourists, followed by Siem Reap province and coastal areas, according to a new report by the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
Tourism is one of four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy, alongside garment, footwear and tourist goods exports; agriculture; and the construction and real estate sectors.
