Outbound tourism in Cambodia increased by 20 percent during 2016 compared to the previous year with around 1.4 million travelling outside the Kingdom, according to Ministry of Tourism figures. Tourism Minister Thong Khon was quoted in state media as saying that Cambodians spent around $600 million abroad last year.
National Tourism Alliance deputy secretary-general Ho Vandy attributed the increase to the growing income of locals. “Firstly, people have more income, and they run more of their own businesses or have more salary,” he said.
Better air connectivity, particularly for regional destinations, was also a factor. “There a lot of carriers connecting Cambodia, both low cost and high cost, and they often have big promotions for travelling abroad,” added Vandy.
The majority of Cambodian tourists visited ASEAN nations such as Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia, with cross-border day trips to Thailand proving most popular.
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