Cambodia forecasts 4.6 mln air passengers in 2023 after China's reopening: spokesman

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is expected to attract 4.6 million air passengers in 2023 after China's optimization of its pandemic control policies on Jan. 8, a spokesman said on Saturday.

State Secretariat of Civil Aviation's Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha said the Southeast Asian nation received 28,900 flights with 2.38 million passengers last year.

"For 2023, we predict that the number of air passengers will be doubled thanks to China's reopening," he told Xinhua.

"Cambodia is ready to welcome the return of Chinese people, tourists, business people and investors as they are key contributors to tourism and socio-economic development in the kingdom," he added.

Chansereyvutha said currently, 27 airlines, including six airlines from China, have been operating flights in and out of Cambodia.

"We expect that there will be more airlines and flights from China in the near future," he said.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the kingdom is projected to attract at least 1 million Chinese tourists in 2023, an expected increase from merely 110,000 in 2022.

"China is the most important outbound tourism market for the world, so China's resumption of outbound tourism is very beneficial not only to Cambodia, but also to the whole world," he told Xinhua.