Cambodia records 23% rise in tourist arrivals in H1
Cambodia records 23% rise in tourist arrivals in H1
Cambodia’s tourism sector continued its strong recovery with the first half of 2024 (H1) recording a significant increase in foreign tourist arrivals.
According to a report from the Ministry of Tourism yesterday, the country welcomed 3.16 million foreign tourists in the January to June period this year, up 22.7 percent from 2.57 million recorded during the same period in 2023.
Thailand was the top source market for foreign tourist arrivals in Cambodia during the period with 955,250 visitors, a year-on-year decrease of 9.7 percent, the report said.
Some 639,549 Vietnamese and 389,360 Chinese tourists also travelled to Cambodia during the first six months of this year, up 38 percent and 45.2 percent respectively, it added.
As many as 1.51 million foreign visitors, or about 36.4 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals, travelled to Cambodia by air, a year-on-year increase of 26.2 percent in arrivals via airports. The remaining tourists arrived via land border gates and waterways, the report pointed out.
The positive trend aligns with Cambodia’s ambition to surpass pre-pandemic tourist numbers. The ministry previously projected a target of seven million foreign tourist arrivals by 2025, exceeding the 6.6 million recorded in 2019.
Top Sopheak, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Tourism, said that the figures indicated that Cambodia’s tourism sector is on the path of recovery even though it has not yet reached the level before the Covid-19 crisis.
“The government through the Ministry of Tourism is making efforts, with the support of relevant parties and the private sector, to promote visits to Cambodia,” he said.
At the same time, the ministry’s report showed that Cambodia’s outbound tourism also went up by five percent to 905,980 during the January-June period this year.
Cambodia is well-known for its world cultural heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province, the Preah Vihear Temple and Koh Ker Temple in Preah Vihear province, and the Sambor Prei Kuk Archaeological Site in Kampong Thom province.
Besides, the Kingdom has a 450-kilometre-long pristine coastline stretching across four southwestern provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong.
In a report issued recently, the National Bank of Cambodia said that the tourism sector is one of the main drivers of the country’s economic growth in 2024.
Due to the better physical infrastructure, direct flight connections and Cambodia’s attractions, more foreign tourists are expected to travel to the Kingdom, the central bank said in the report.
Last year, the Kingdom received 5.45 million foreign visitors, earning a gross revenue of $3.08 billion, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
