Chinese Now Largest Tourist Group in Cambodia

The director of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism’s statistics and planning department, Kong Sophereak, has reported that the number of Chinese arrivals to Cambodia in the first quarter of 2017 totalled approximately 270,000, representing a 26 percent year-on-year increase on 2016’s figure. This coincided with a 6 percent decrease in visitors from Vietnam, which fell to a quarterly total of 203,400 arrivals, leading Sophereak to announce that it was the: “first time that China overtakes Vietnam to become the biggest source of tourists to Cambodia.”

In 2017, from January to March, Cambodia received 1.5 million foreign visitors which is up 12 percent over the same period last year. Kong Sophereak claimed that currently 12 airlines have been operating about 120 flights per week between Cambodia and Chinese cities. It is expected that the country will see 1 million Chinese arrivals in 2017, along with a target of 2 million by 2020.

The healthy growth in Chinese arrival numbers comes amidst an increase in direct flights between the two countries and the launch of a white paper last year, which listed steps to be taken by tourism authorities to facilitate trips to Chinese visitors. This list includes: providing Chinese signage and documents for visa processing, encouraging locals to use the Chinese currency (RMB), as well as providing food and accommodation suited to Chinese tourists.

COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute provides expert insights into the worldwide developments of China’s outbound tourism market. As Chinese outbound tourists are travelling to a large range of destinations, our publications cover a number of regions, providing detailed insights and analysing visitor behaviour.

With COTRI’s insights you can forge a successful business strategy built upon in-depth market expertise, comprehensive qualitative analysis and future projections. The upcoming Spring 2017 Edition of the COTRI Market report features in-depth exploration of the developing trends in the field, supported by a wealth of qualitative and quantitative statistical research.

Source: Xinhua

Picture: Flickr