Cambodia's Angkor park attracts over 80,000 Chinese tourists in 2025

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park recorded a total of 80,144 Chinese tourists in 2025, a slight decrease of 3 percent from 2024, said an official report on Sunday.

China was the fourth largest source of international tourist arrivals to the UNESCO-listed world heritage site after the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, said the state-owned Angkor Enterprise's report.

The ancient park attracted a total of 955,131 foreign visitors from 197 countries and regions in 2025, a year-on-year drop of 6.7 percent, the report said, adding that the park made a gross revenue of 44.7 million U.S. dollars last year, also down 6.5 percent.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, said persistent online scams and recent border conflict with Thailand have adversely affected Cambodia's tourism industry.

"2025 was a difficult year for Cambodia's tourism sector," he told Xinhua. "It will remain a challenge for the tourism sector in 2026 if we do not root out online scams."

Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science in Phnom Penh, said Cambodia's pilot visa-free policy for Chinese citizens from June 15 to Oct. 15 is likely to generate a significant rise in arrivals from China.

"Supported by strong air connectivity and effective promotion, I believe that the number of Chinese tourists to the Angkor park will be on the rise this year," he told Xinhua.

Located in northwest Siem Reap province, the Angkor Archaeological Park, the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian country, is home to 91 ancient temples built from the ninth to the 13th centuries.