Cambodia: foreign visitor tally falls by 72%

According to an official report, the number of foreign visitors has plunged, with an 83 per cent decline in arrivals from mainland China.

Cambodia.- Border measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 have caused a major impact on tourism and on the gaming industry.

According to information revealed by Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, the tally of visitor arrivals in Cambodia declined by 72 per cent the first eight months of the year.

The report released by the Cambodian authorities also shows an 83% fall in visitors from mainland China.

This plunge in visitation has had a heavy impact on Cambodia’s casino industry, with 30 casinos in Sihanoukville having either closed their doors completely or suspended all staff in 2020. Another 33 casinos in the country have temporarily suspended staff.

Cambodia welcomed just 1.22 million visitors from January to August, down from 4.36 million over the same period in 2019. Visitors from China, the country’s main source of visitors, dropped from 1.7 million last year to 292,303.

Arrivals from neighboring Vietnam fell 68% to 180,095 and from Thailand by 22% to 182,501.

Total visitor arrivals in Cambodia for August dropped 95.5 per cent year-on-year to 23,028.

The tourism minister Thong Khon said that Cambodia expects to lose around US$3 billion in tourism revenue in 2020. Last year revenue was up to US$4.9 billion as the tally of visitors reached 6.6 million.