PHNOM PENH, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia attracted a total of 1.01 million international tourists in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, down 44.8 percent over the same period last year, said a report of the Ministry of Tourism on Friday.
China topped the chart among the foreign tourist arrivals to the Southeast Asian country during the January-March period, followed by Vietnam and the United States, the report said.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the overall decline in international tourist arrivals reflected regional economic slowdowns and the impacts of the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
"Conflict in the Middle East, which has driven a significant rise in fuel prices and disrupted some flights, has also contributed to this slump," 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.
The kingdom received 5.57 million international tourists in 2025, generating a total revenue of 3.87 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Tourism. ■