8.5% increase in tourist arrivals in Cambodia

The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism released a statistical report this past weekend detailing the number of visitors traveling to Cambodia in January of this year. A total of 647,206 tourists were recorded, marking an 8.5% increase compared to January 2018, when 596,241 visitors were counted.

Tourism in the Kingdom continues to grow year after year.  This first month of the year saw an 8.5% rise in the number of visitors compared to the same period last year. However, this figure should be taken with a grain of salt. Upon closer inspection, the increase is indeed real—but slower than the growth recorded the year before. In January 2018, Cambodia saw a 12% increase compared to January 2017, when the total stood at 532,206 visitors.

China dominates the numbers

More than 100 different nationalities visited Cambodia in January. As expected, China topped the list, with 182,449 Chinese visitors during the month—representing more than one in four travelers. This marked a 19.1% increase compared to 2018. The top 10 source countries for tourists included seven from Asia:

• China (182,449)
• Vietnam (63,493)
• Laos (62,134)
• Thailand (44,087)
• South Korea (41,364)
• Japan (19,435)
• Malaysia (17,648)

as well as three from outside the region:

• United States (30,254)
• France (22,189)
• United Kingdom (19,654)

Among them, Laos showed the most dramatic rise with a 47.6% increase compared to January 2018—the highest growth rate in the top 10.

A few records

This kind of statistical report covers all possible figures and often reveals data that seems useless—yet somehow essential. On the opposite end of the spectrum from China, Monaco was the least represented nation in Cambodia in January 2019, with just 14 visitors, down slightly from 16 the year before.

The United Arab Emirates posted the most staggering increase in tourist numbers to the Kingdom, with a +1468% surge, jumping from 19 visitors in January 2018 to 298 this year.

The Middle East as a whole has seen a remarkable boost in travel to Cambodia, with a 63% increase in visitors: 526 in January 2018 compared to 859 in January 2019—making it the most dynamic region in terms of growth.

At the other end of the scale, Latvia experienced the sharpest drop in tourist arrivals to Cambodia, with a 48.7% decrease (from 267 in 2018 to 137 in 2019). The trend held across the Baltic countries :

• Estonia dropped 47.7% (from 440 to 230)
• Lithuania declined by 5.2% (from 402 to 381)

Thibault Bourru