Cambodia Welcomed 6.7 Million Visitors in 2024 — But Fewer of Them Went to Angkor Wat

Cambodia's tourism numbers tell a genuinely counterintuitive story. The country's overall visitor count hit a record 6.7 million international arrivals in 2024 — real, substantial growth — while its single most famous attraction, Angkor Wat, kept taking a shrinking slice of that total. Both things are true at once, and understanding why says a lot about where Cambodian tourism is actually headed.

The National Numbers

Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism recorded roughly 6.7 million international visitors in 2024, a 22.9% increase over 2023, generating about $3.6 billion in tourism receipts. The regional concentration is striking: Asia-Pacific visitors made up about 85% of all arrivals, led by Thailand (32%), Vietnam (20%) and China (12.7%). In other words, this growth story is overwhelmingly about regional and short-haul travel — cross-border trips from neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, and a substantial and specifically targeted Chinese visitor market — rather than a surge in long-haul Western tourism.

Angkor Wat: Growing in Absolute Terms, Shrinking as a Share

Angkor Archaeological Park sold 1,023,688 foreign tickets in 2024, up more than 28% from 798,069 in 2023 — genuinely strong year-on-year growth in absolute terms. But set against Angkor's own history, that number looks different: the site drew 2.59 million foreign visitors at its 2018 peak, and 2024's total represents just 15.3% of Cambodia's overall foreign visitor count, down sharply from 41.8% in 2018. Angkor is recovering — but the rest of the country's tourism sector is growing considerably faster than the temple complex that put Cambodia on the map in the first place.

So Where Is the Growth Actually Coming From?

A few things are driving the divergence. Short-haul, repeatable regional trips from Thailand and Vietnam don't necessarily include a stop at Angkor, hundreds of kilometers from the border crossings most of that traffic uses. Sihanoukville's beaches and casino resorts draw a large, specifically targeted Chinese visitor market largely disconnected from the Angkor/Siem Reap circuit entirely. Phnom Penh's Royal Palace and riverside draw their own dedicated city-break visitors, and Kampot's pepper-farm and riverside tourism has grown into a genuine, separate niche. None of this diminishes Angkor — it simply means Cambodia's tourism base has diversified well beyond the single temple complex that used to define the entire country's visitor economy.

What Still Makes Angkor Worth the Trip

The numbers shift, but the site's core appeal hasn't changed. Angkor was the largest pre-industrial urban complex in the world, built across several centuries by the Khmer Empire; the Bayon temple's serene, oversized carved stone faces remain one of the most distinctive sights anywhere in Southeast Asia; and Ta Prohm's jungle-reclaimed ruins — sandstone corridors half-swallowed by giant strangler fig and silk-cotton tree roots, made globally recognizable by Tomb Raider — offer a completely different mood from Angkor Wat's more formal grandeur. A sunrise visit to Angkor Wat itself, watching its five towers reflected in the surrounding moat as the sky changes color, remains one of the genuinely great travel experiences in the region, whatever share of Cambodia's overall visitor total it currently represents.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people visit Angkor Wat each year?

Over 1 million foreign tourists purchased Angkor tickets in 2024 (1,023,688, up 28% from 2023) — still well below the 2018 peak of 2.59 million, even as Cambodia's overall tourism numbers have hit new records.

Is Angkor Wat still Cambodia's main tourist attraction?

It's still the country's single most famous site, but it now represents a shrinking share of Cambodia's total tourism — about 15% of foreign visitors in 2024, down from nearly 42% in 2018 — as beach, city and regional cross-border tourism has grown faster.

Why has Cambodia's tourism grown so much recently?

Primarily regional, short-haul travel — Thailand and Vietnam together account for over half of all foreign arrivals — alongside a significant, specifically targeted Chinese visitor market centered on Sihanoukville's coast rather than the Angkor temple circuit.