Economy: Visa collaborates with Ministry of Tourism to accelerate Tourism growth in Cambodia

Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism signed here on Tuesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Visa, a world leader in digital payments to accelerate tourism growth in the Kingdom.

Mr. Arturo Planell, Group Country Manager, Regional Southeast Asia at Visa and H.E. Sok Soken, Minister of Tourism

As part of this collaboration, Visa is supporting the growth of tourism by offering data-driven insights, supporting workshops for industry partners, providing marketing expertise, facilitating financial and digital literacy for small businesses and merchants, and assisting in digital transformation, said Visa.

To kick off this collaboration, it continued, Visa is amplifying the impact of data analytics on tourism strategy using its customised tool, Visa Destination Insights. This application, based on verified VisaNet transaction data, allows for real-time tracking of travel behaviours and trends, facilitating more precise and effective strategy decisions. This tool will support the ministry’s ambitions in cultivating a data and digital-first tourism strategy.

Visa will also be advancing the acceleration of digital payments in the tourism sector, an effort already commenced by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) through the development of the Bakong Tourist App, said the source, quoted an NBC’s report saying that foreign tourists in the first half of 2024 injected an estimated US$1.7 billion into the Cambodian economy. 

According to Visa, the MOU supports the strategic plan of Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism, initiated in August 2023, to bolster its tourism sector. This new tourism strategy and action plan, called “BUILD Plus 3Ds”, is set to propel tourism development in Cambodia, highlighting four pillars vital to the industry: cultural heritage, coastal tourism, eco-tourism, and Cambodian identity, with a special emphasis on coastal tourism to promote Cambodia's stunning coastline.

The tourism sector, which contributed US$1.14 billion in revenue and accounted for 12.4 percent of total employment in Cambodia in 2022, saw over 5.4 million international tourists in 2023. The Ministry of Tourism projects this figure to rise to 6.6 million in 2024.

“Visa is delighted to collaborate with the Ministry of Tourism to support the rapid growth of tourism in Cambodia. The ministry’s leadership has been fundamental to tourism recovery in the country, and it’s an honour for Visa to help accelerate that effort. H.E. Prime Minister Hun Manet's recent announcement on revamping the Cambodia Tourism Board also encourages collaboration between the public and private sectors to enhance Cambodia's tourism promotion strategies. We look forward to collaborating closely with the Ministry of Tourism as they lead the next phase of development for this crucial economic growth driver for Cambodia,” said Mr. Arturo Planell, Group Country Manager, Regional Southeast Asia at Visa.

H.E. Sok Soken, Minister of Tourism, Cambodia, said:

“We recognise Visa as a key partner in helping us build the necessary technological infrastructure to enhance our sector’s competitiveness. This collaboration will enable us to integrate world-class digital payment systems and leverage Visa’s comprehensive data capabilities to offer a seamless and advanced experience for tourists, while also empowering local businesses to adopt modern payment solutions.”

“This, in turn, will foster greater economic participation and ensure that the benefits of tourism are widely distributed across our society. Together, we will create a more resilient, innovative, and inclusive tourism landscape that benefits not only our visitors but also our local communities and businesses. Our collaboration is not just a strategic alignment, it represents a shared vision for the long-term prosperity of Cambodia’s tourism industry.”

With the growing popularity of digital payment methods in Cambodia, more travelers are using their credit cards when visiting Cambodia. More than 60 percent of transactions made by tourists were done on credit cards, based on analysis by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), Visa's payments advisory arm, using VisaNet data.

Visa’s data also show that tourism related spending by tourists from China and India have increased significantly after the pandemic, which Visa hopes to drive faster growth to support the ministry’s ‘Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year' and the 'First Cambodia-India Tourism Year 2024'.

Visa partners with tourism boards in Southeast Asia to support their growth initiatives. In 2020, Visa and the Singapore Tourism Board inked a three-year partnership on a joint research and analytics and marketing partnership. Visa has also collaborated with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to increase digital payment acceptance in Bangkok and five other cities, aiming to bolster the tourism sector.

Cambodia presents a plethora of opportunities for tourism growth, underpinned by a promising economic forecast of 6 percent GDP growth in 2024. This outlook is fueled by a resurgence in the country's tourism sector. Significant infrastructure improvements further underpin this growth, most notably the opening of the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, completed in October 2023. This upgrade not only enables larger aircrafts to land, which significantly increases flight capacity, but also offers more direct flights to Siem Reap for international visitors.

Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. We believe economies that include everyone uplifts everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.