PHNOM PENH, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park attracted a total of 474,810 international visitors in the first four months of 2025, up 12.6 percent year-on-year, said a news release on Thursday.
The ancient park made 22.2 million U.S. dollars in revenue from ticket sales during the cited period, up 11.5 percent year-on-year, said the news release from the state-owned Angkor Enterprise.
Situated in northwest Siem Reap province, the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park, the kingdom's most popular tourist destination, is home to 91 ancient temples, which had been built from the ninth to the 13th centuries.
Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, told Xinhua that he did not expect a sharp increase in tourist arrivals to the Angkor in 2025 due to current geopolitical climate, political changes in the United States, and various crisis impacting global travel.
"Unless there are initiatives such as free visas or special incentive packages for destination management companies (DMCs) or travelers, I project that arrivals might remain relatively flat," he said.
As 2025 has been designated as the Cambodia-China Year of Tourism, this marks a significant step forward in revitalizing bilateral tourism and people-to-people exchanges, he added.
"Chinese tourists have historically played a crucial role in Cambodia's tourism industry," he said.
Thong Mengdavid, a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, foresaw that the Cambodia-China Year of Tourism would help lure more Chinese tourists to Cambodia, particularly to the 401-square-km Angkor complex.
He said the Chinese-invested Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, the main gateway for international travelers to the Angkor, would definitely help bring more foreign travelers to the Angkor park. ■
