More than One Million Visitors Came to Cambodia during the First Nine Months of 2022
Cambodia welcomed around 1.2 million visitors between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2022, which amounted to an 861 percent increase compared to the same period in 2021, according to the Minister of Tourism Thong Khon. Photo: Touch Sovandy
- By Nhek Sreyleak
- November 20, 2022 12:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia welcomed around 1.2 million visitors between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2022, which amounted to an 861 percent increase compared to the same period in 2021, according to the Minister of Tourism Thong Khon.
The number of domestic tourists traveling across the country also increased, reaching 9.6 million, which represented a 430 percent jump compared to the same period in 2021, he said.
The minister released these figures on Nov. 18 during his speech at CAMFOOD’22 and CAMBUILD’22, a three-day international exhibition on the food, hotel, and hospitality industry that took place Nov. 16 through 18 in Phnom Penh.
Citing a report compiled by his ministry, Khon said that these increases in the number of both international and domestic visitors have mainly been due to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is abating.
Thus far, tourism-related businesses have reopened at 2,708 locations across the country, enabling 31,105 employees suspended during the pandemic to go back to work, he said.
And the number of tourists is expected to keep on increasing: Based on projections, 2 million international visitors and 11 million domestic tourists will tour the country by the end of this year, the minister said.
During his speech, Khon said that the Ministry of Tourism has set out policies, plans, and strategies to manage and develop the tourism sector effectively and sustainably during the next five-year period of 2023 to 2028.
Projections are that, by 2028, Cambodia will attract each year around 7.5 million international tourists and 16 million domestic tourists.
