Vietnam Remains Cambodia’s Top Source of Tourists with Over 1 Million Visitors

PHNOM PENH, Feb 2, 2026 (KPT) – Cambodia received 1.2 million Vietnamese tourists in 2025, down 8.8 percent from the previous year, but Vietnam remained the Kingdom’s largest source of foreign visitors, the Ministry of Tourism said.

Overall, Cambodia welcomed more than 5.5 million international tourists last year. Chinese arrivals ranked second at 1.2 million, up 41.4 percent, while Thai visitors totaled 1 million, a sharp 52 percent drop. The United States accounted for 200,000 visitors, down 3.6 percent, and South Korea 15,000, down 20.6 percent.

Tourism showed signs of recovery in the first half of 2025, supported by diversification of destinations, new direct flight connections and the opening of international airports. But growth slowed in the second half following two rounds of armed clashes with Thailand and regional online scam crimes, reducing overall expansion to 5.1 percent compared to more than 13 percent in 2024.

Thourn Sinan, president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Cambodia Chapter, said the sector faced significant pressure in 2025 due to post-pandemic challenges, allegations of online scams and border tensions.

“Geopolitical issues are unfolding around the world. The world has reached an unpredictable stage where anything can happen at any time,” he said.

Figures show Cambodia welcomed 5,569,752 international tourists in 2025, a 16.9 percent decline from 6.7 million in 2024. Despite the drop, revenue from international tourism rose 3 percent to about US$3.7 billion, according to the National Bank of Cambodia.