Chinese tourist arrivals to Cambodia reach 1 mln in 1st 10 months of 2025: minister

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia attracted about 1 million Chinese tourists during the January-October period of 2025, the country's Tourism Minister Huot Hak said here on Thursday.

"In the first 10 months of 2025, Cambodia received a total of approximately 4.8 million international tourists, of which about 1 million were Chinese tourists," he said in a speech at a Cambodia-China tourism forum 2025.

Hak said the tourism sector has continued to play an important role in supporting national economic growth towards the kingdom's vision of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.

"In this sense, the future of Cambodia's tourism sector is inseparable from the inflows of Chinese tourists and investors," he said.

The minister recalled that Cambodia received up to 2.3 million Chinese tourists in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic era in 2019, accounting for about one-third of the total international tourist arrivals to the kingdom.

"Cambodia is fully prepared and ready to welcome the return of Chinese tourists and investors," he said. "The growth of Chinese tourists is a great opportunity, not only to boost the development of the tourism industry, but also to create investment opportunities in other sectors."

Thong Mengdavid, a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said that driven by improved flight connectivity, China's economic growth, and growing interest in Cambodia's cultural and natural attractions, Cambodia recorded stronger and more robust Chinese tourist arrivals in 2025.

"This growth will bring significant benefits to Cambodians, particularly in hospitality, retail, and local businesses, creating more jobs and income opportunities," he told Xinhua. "Increased tourism spending will also support infrastructure development and cultural preservation."