PHNOM PENH, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia increased significantly in 2025 despite an overall drop in international tourist arrivals to the kingdom, said a Cambodian Ministry of Tourism report released on Tuesday.
A total of 1.2 million Chinese visitors traveled to Cambodia in 2025, a year-on-year rise of 41.5 percent, while the total international tourist arrivals to the kingdom dropped by 16.9 percent to 5.57 million last year, the report said.
China was the second-biggest source of foreign holidaymakers to the Southeast Asian country after Vietnam, the report added.
Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, said the growth in Chinese tourist numbers reflected a strong and growing interest of Chinese tourists in Cambodia's tourist attractions.
"The rising middle class in China, coupled with targeted marketing and expanded flight routes, should further boost Chinese arrivals," he told Xinhua.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the Cambodia-China Tourism Year 2025 had boosted this growth.
"I believe that the growth of Chinese tourists to Cambodia will continue to soar this year thanks to Cambodia's pilot visa-free policy for Chinese nationals, which is set to begin from June 15 to October 15, 2026," he told Xinhua.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy, in addition to garment, footwear and travel goods export, agriculture, and construction and real estate. ■
