PHNOM PENH: Cambodia welcomes some 2.28 million foreign tourists last year, injecting US$1.4 billion into the national economy, the Ministry of Tourism’s report showed yesterday.

The revenue saw an increase of 667 percent compared to 2021, read the report. The skyrocketing figures of foreign tourists happened after the country reopened its doors and eased health measures against Covid-19 in late 2021.

Last year, there were 13,597 tourism-related businesses providing a total of 320,000 jobs for the locals. The Royal Government of Cambodia has designated 2022-2023 as the year of the recovery phase of Cambodia’s tourism sector after the Covid-19 crisis.

For 2023, the Kingdom is expected to receive at least 4 million international tourists. The Ministry of Tourism launched in February the “Visit Cambodia Year 2023” campaign, a national movement to inspire all stakeholders to restore Cambodia’s tourism sector for a better future.

H.E. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, recently said that the “Visit Cambodia Year 2023” campaign is a necessary and timely task to contribute to the restoration of Cambodia’s tourism sector to achieve the plan set out in the roadmap to restore and promote tourism in Cambodia after the Covid-19 crisis.

Tourism is one of the four major pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy.
In 2019, the pre-pandemic era, the country registered 6.6 million international tourists, generating US$4.92 billion in revenue that contributed 12.1 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.