Cambodia: Angkor slumps, Phnom Penh holds, Sihanoukville grows
In the first seven months of 2026, the kingdom received barely two million foreign visitors, almost half as many as a year earlier. The closure of the Thai border accounts for most of the fall, but not all of it. Behind the national average, the three main tourist hubs are moving in opposite directions.
Cambodia's international arrivals: the collapse is at the land borders
The figure is stark. The Ministry of Tourism recorded 1.99 million international arrivals between January and July 2026, down 46% year on year. In the first half, the decline reached 47.9%, to 1.75 million from 3.36 million.
The mechanism is first of all geographic. In the first quarter, land arrivals fell 69%, against 15.9% for air arrivals. Air travel now accounts for 65.4% of entries. The Thai market has all but vanished: from January to May, it went from 856,169 to 32,757 visitors, down 96.2%. All land crossings have been closed since late June 2025. On the Thai side, no reopening is in sight. In May 2026, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul repeated that the checkpoints would stay shut until Cambodia accepted the conditions set by Bangkok.
Excluding Thailand, a fall of one quarter
Taking Thailand out of the equation does not make the crisis go away. On official first-quarter figures, arrivals excluding Thailand fell from about 1.34 million to 988,000, a drop of 26%. An analysis published in July by Market Insider found a decline of about 28% over five months, excluding the Thai market.
Other regional markets have also collapsed. In the first quarter, Laos fell 90.6%, South Korea 66.1%, Russia 57.3% and Vietnam 22.7%. The Korean case has a specific cause. In October 2025, Seoul barred its nationals from several areas of Cambodia after a Korean student was kidnapped and tortured to death by a criminal ring. Bokor Mountain, Bavet and Poipet are on the list.
Tourism Minister Huot Hak sums up the official explanation. He cites negative publicity around online scam networks, border tensions with Thailand and the fuel price surge caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Long-haul markets are holding up better. France fell 16.9% in the first quarter, to 43,425 visitors, the United States 12.9% and the United Kingdom 11.9%. One telling detail: of 242,387 Chinese arrivals in the first quarter, 135,209 were business trips, against 106,207 holiday visits.
Revenue and hotels: 2025 was the warning
The downturn began last year. In 2025, the country received 5.57 million foreign visitors, down 16.9%. Hotel occupancy fell to 59.1%, from 77.8% in 2024. The average stay shortened from 7.1 to 6.2 days. Revenue held up. It reached $3.878 billion, and tourism accounts for 9.8% of GDP, according to the ministry.
International lenders have priced in the shock. In April, the World Bank cut its 2026 growth forecast for Cambodia to 3.9%, from 4.8% last year. The Asian Development Bank expects the border closure to slow growth this year before a recovery in 2027 driven by tourism-related services.
Air travel: as many planes, fewer passengers
Airlines are keeping their routes, but cabins are emptier. Over seven months, the three international airports handled 37,248 flights (-1%) and 3.71 million passengers (-9%). Cargo rose 21%. Techo International Airport, south of Phnom Penh, accounted for 70.3% of aircraft movements in the first half, Siem Reap for 24% and Sihanoukville for 5.3%.
Visa-free entry for Chinese visitors: the summer lever
The government has bet on China. The country sent more than 1.2 million visitors in 2025, up 41.5%. From June 15 to October 15, Chinese nationals can enter without a visa for 14 days, with multiple entries and only an e-Arrival form. The impact has yet to be measured, but the industry wants more. The tourism working group has asked for the scheme to be extended to the end of the year and widened to other markets. Huot Hak has promised to put these requests to Prime Minister Hun Manet.
The ministry's scenarios against the arithmetic
The ministry has published three scenarios for 2026: 4.6 to 4.8 million arrivals if the crisis persists, 5.3 to 5.5 million if conditions improve without a border settlement, and 6.1 to 6.3 million if the crisis ends completely. The sums are simple. With 1.99 million at the end of July, even the low scenario requires more than 520,000 arrivals a month from August to December. July, derived from the published cumulative totals, came in at around 240,000. By comparison, the fourth quarter of 2025 totalled 1.19 million arrivals.
A base effect will help the second half. Comparisons are now with months already hit by the conflict: July 2025 was already down 39.6% year on year.
Phnom Penh tourism: the capital absorbs the shock
Phnom Penh is faring best of the three hubs. In the first quarter, the capital received 570,152 foreign visitors, down only 6.9%. The same series shows a 672% rise in Cambodian visitors, an outlier to be treated with caution. The capital benefits from being the main air gateway. Even so, international arrivals at Techo airport fell 21.1% over the quarter.
The city now has a roadmap. The Phnom Penh Tourism Development Plan 2026-2030 was launched on August 17 by Huot Hak and Governor Khuong Sreng, under the banner “Clean, Smart and Green”. The minister highlighted the Chaktomuk pedestrian walkway, one of the capital's newest attractions. He also stressed safety and public order as key to drawing visitors.
Siem Reap tourism: Angkor loses nearly one foreign visitor in three
Siem Reap bears the brunt. From January to August, 474,993 foreign visitors bought tickets to the Angkor Archaeological Park, down 29.07% on a year earlier. Revenue reached $22.54 million, down 27.43%. For reference, the whole of 2025 brought 955,131 tickets and $44.71 million.
The whole province is sliding. In the first four months, Siem Reap received 1,638,257 visitors, down 37.54%. Cambodian visitors fell 38.72% and foreigners 32.18%, to 322,004. The airport shows the paradox. In the first quarter, flights rose about 5% but passengers fell about 7%, to 480,092. An incentive scheme running until March 31, 2027 offers up to a 100% discount on landing, parking and lighting fees in the first year for any new route.
The local diagnosis is harsh. Provincial tourism director Thim Sereyvuth acknowledges that many hotels that closed during the pandemic never reopened. In late May, more than 200 industry players met to look for solutions, including tours combining several provinces. Thourn Sinan, president of the Cambodia chapter of PATA, says the country must repair an image damaged by online scam centres, while welcoming the government's crackdown.
A more encouraging signal appeared in August. That month, 46,770 foreign visitors bought tickets, down 8% year on year, for $2.22 million in revenue (-8.5%). The gap is much narrower than the -30% of the first half.
Sihanoukville tourism: the only major province still growing
The coast is the exception. In 2025, Preah Sihanouk received 415,459 foreign visitors, up from 318,491 in 2024, a 30% increase. In the first quarter of 2026, foreign arrivals rose a further 17.8%, to 148,796. Domestic visits, however, fell 14.6% to 1.2 million. The local airport is changing scale, from a small base. Its international arrivals doubled in the first quarter (+104%), to 26,361.
The expressway, the port and cruise ships are driving this momentum. The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway has cut the journey from the capital to under two hours. The Costa Serena made its first call on February 4 with nearly 3,000 passengers. On September 14, Huot Hak and Governor Mang Sineth launched the provincial tourism plan 2026-2030, which aims to make the province an upmarket destination for both leisure and business.
The legacy of the casino years still weighs. Chea Kimsea of Advantage Property Services counts about 400 stalled buildings in the city centre. Since July 2025, some 250 scam sites and more than 90 casinos have been shut down, according to the authorities, many of them in Sihanoukville. Their closure has cut demand for property. Koh Rong carries most of the ambitions. A $300 million international airport has been under construction there since January 2024, built by Royal Group.
Before year-end: three deadlines
October 15 marks the scheduled end of visa-free entry for Chinese visitors, unless it is extended. High season at Angkor begins at the same time. In Sihanoukville, cruises resume in October with one call, then two in November and five in December, according to the schedule published last year. On the Thai side, no date has been set for reopening the border.
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