The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Tourism in Cambodia, Chea Se, recently announced that the country expects to receive around 4 million tourists in 2023. He made this statement while presiding over the “Belt and Road” Economic Cooperation Forum in Phnom Penh, where he also inaugurated thousands of enterprise projects coming to Cambodia.
According to Chea Se, Cambodia is expected to attract around 2.28 million foreign tourists in 2022, which represents an increase of 1058% over the same period in 2021. However, this figure is a decline of 65.6% over the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The primary sources of tourism in Cambodia are Thailand, Vietnam, China, the United States, Laos, Indonesia, Korea, France, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. The number of domestic visitors in 2021 increased by 198.8% to 13.9 million, while overseas tourists increased by 572.2% to 1.8 million during the same time period.
Chea Se also provided statistics for the first month of 2023, revealing that Cambodia welcomed around 402,943 international tourists, representing a 797.2% increase over the same time period in 2022. Meanwhile, 1.87 million domestic visitors visited, representing a 104.2% rise. In comparison to the same period in 2022, the number of international tourists was 206,205, representing a 140.4% increase.
Chea Se expressed his gratitude to the appropriate ministries, institutions, authorities, corporate sector, national and international organizations, and development partners for their continued collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism in supporting the growth of Cambodia’s tourism sector in the spirit of accountability, responsibility, and vigilance. Cambodia is set to host the 32nd SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games in 2023, which is expected to boost the country’s tourism sector.
