PHNOM PENH, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia reported a total of 5.17 million international tourists in the first 11 months of 2025, a year-on-year drop of 13.8 percent, said a report from the Ministry of Tourism released on Thursday.
Vietnam topped the chart among the foreign tourist arrivals to the Southeast Asian country during the January-November period this year, followed by China and Thailand, the report said.
Some 1.11 million Vietnamese and 1.01 million Thais traveled to Cambodia during the above-mentioned period, down 7.3 percent and 47 percent, respectively, the report said.
However, the number of Chinese visitors to the kingdom was on a significant rise as 1.1 million Chinese came to the country, up 43.5 percent, the report added.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science in Phnom Penh, said the overall decline in international tourist arrivals reflected both regional economic slowdowns and intensified competition from neighboring destinations.
"It also highlights the lingering challenges in air connectivity and destination diversification," he told Xinhua.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy in addition to garment, footwear and travel goods export, agriculture, and construction and real estate. ■