After a surprisingly resilient 2025, Cambodia is heading into 2026 with growth slowing sharply. Surging oil prices, the prolonged closure of the Thai border, and rising bad loans in the banking sector are combining to paint a more mixed macroeconomic picture, according to the latest Annual Consultation Report from the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), published in July.

2025 was a crucial test for Cambodia's tourism industry, revealing an uneven post-pandemic recovery, marked by promising signs and persistent vulnerabilities.

Tourism has returned to Cambodia, but without regaining its equilibrium. After the collapse caused by the global health crisis, 2023 and 2024 marked a visible recovery: borders reopened, international flights resumed, and visitor flows restarted.

Did you know that Cambodia saw a drastic 82% drop in air arrivals from 2019 to 2022? The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel, hitting