Phnom Penh: The tourism industry contributed 9.4 percent to Cambodia’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, making the sector one of the key drivers in the country’s economy, a report from the Ministry of Tourism showed on Feb. 24. Cambodia has experienced an encouraging surge of arrivals of foreign tourists in 2024, significantly contributing to the country’s economic growth.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, during the year, the Kingdom welcomed 6.7 million foreign tourists, a year-on-year increase of 22.9 percent, and attracted 22.52 million domestic tourism movements, up 22 percent. The influx of foreign tourists generated US$3.637 million, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent.

H.E. Mrs. Hun Dany, Secretary of State and Spokeswoman at the Ministry of Tourism, attributed the robust performance of the tourism sector to government initiatives to boost tourism, creative tourism products, and connectivity, facilitating tourists’ convenient travels. Cambodia has 13,876 licensed tourism enterprises nationwide, offering direct jobs to some 510,000.

The country has four world heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province, the Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk in Kampong Thom province, and the Temple of Preah Vihear and Koh Ker archaeological site in Preah Vihear province. The Ministry of Tourism has targeted 7.5 million foreign tourists in 2025, calling all relevant parties to promote the tourism sector to the world.