Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia welcomed 2.46 million international visitors in the first nine months of 2026, down 43.7% from 4.37 million in the same period last year, according to a report released by the Ministry of Tourism on October 27.
Vietnam, China and the US remained Cambodia’s main source markets, but arrivals from all the three nations declined.
The number of Vietnamese visitors fell 28% year-on-year to 651,486, while Chinese arrivals dropped 27.6% to 643,314. Visitors from the US decreased 5.6% to 140,276, the report showed.
Cambodian Minister of Tourism Huot Hak attributed the decline to regional and global challenges, including negative information surrounding online scam networks, tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border and conflicts in the Middle East. The conflicts have pushed up fuel prices and weakened global travel demand, he said.
Tourism is a key pillar of Cambodia’s economy, alongside agriculture, construction, real estate and manufacturing exports, including garments, footwear and travel goods.
In 2025, Cambodia received 5.57 million international tourists and earned approximately 3.87 billion USD in tourism revenue./.
