International guests marvel at Siem Reap province’s Bayon Temple, in early 2025. Yousos Apdoulrashim
The Ministry of Tourism expects the Kingdom to build on the growth in international arrivals it recorded in 2024, estimating that it expects to welcome between 7.2 and 7.5 million foreign guests this year.
In 2024, 6.7 million international tourists visited Cambodia, an increase of around 23 per cent over 2023. The number of domestic travellers reached 22.52 million, a 20.1 per cent rise on the previous year, according to the ministry.
Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese citizens accounted for 64.7% of the total. The average length of stay was not provided.
“Based on current trends and the continued implementation of key strategies by the government – as well as the ministry’s efforts to promote its various strategic plans – we expect the number of international tourists to grow to between 7.2 and 7.5 million in 2025,” the ministry shared, in a report released during its February 26-27 annual meeting, held to assess the results of its work in 2024 and outline goals for 2025.
Tourism minister Huot Hak addressed the closing ceremony.
The Tourism ministry held its annual conference on February 26-27. Tourism ministry
He highlighted that the positive increases seen in 2024 did not come solely from the leadership and staff of the ministry, but were the result of collaboration and hard work across all levels and sectors of the industry.
Hak noted that the recovery of the tourism sector must come from a solid foundation of national and inter-ministerial cooperation, the local and international private sectors, foreign embassies in Cambodia, development partners, Cambodian representatives abroad, and bilateral and multilateral international cooperation, as well as efforts to promote tourism through media and community participation.
He also mentioned several new initiatives, such as the integration of e-Visa and e-Arrival systems into one platform, reduced visa fees for tourists, reforms of the Angkor ticket sale process, the introduction of a new payment system for tourists and the creation of a committee to combat online scams.
In addition, campaigns such as “Visit Siem Reap 2024”, “Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024” and “Cambodia-India Tourism Year 2024” were launched.
“The government has also agreed to designate 2025 as Cambodia-China Tourism Year and continue to designate 2025 as Cambodia-India Tourism Year,” Hak added.
However, he warned that tourism sector still faces numerous challenges, especially after Covid-19, including the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, issues in the Middle East and geopolitical tensions among major powers. In response, he suggested that the ministry’s conference focus on attracting tourists through the creation of new programmes.
