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Weekly destination sentiment tracking for Cambodia across news, social, forum, and review sources. Updated 18 Oct 2026.
| TSI-8 Category | Score (1-10) | Promoter | Detractor | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destination Services | 7.7 | 224 | 26 | +53.2 |
| Food & Culinary | 7.9 | 83 | 8 | +57.3 |
| Relaxation & Wellness | 8.0 | 65 | 7 | +59.2 |
| Outdoor & Activities | 7.6 | 73 | 7 | +52.8 |
| Culture & History | 6.7 | 254 | 67 | +34.9 |
| Access & Transportation | 6.2 | 131 | 59 | +24.3 |
| Amenities & Entertainment | 6.4 | 39 | 14 | +27.2 |
| Safety | 3.5 | 56 | 120 | −29.2 |
| Week Ending | Safety | Value | Temples / Culture | Service | Visa Friction | Food & Culinary | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 2026 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 6.8 |
| 11 Oct 2026 | 3.7 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 6.9 |
| 4 Oct 2026 | 4.4 | 8.5 | 6.4 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.5 |
| 27 Sep 2026 | 3.1 | 7.3 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.4 |
| 20 Sep 2026 | 3.6 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 6.6 |
| 13 Sep 2026 | 3.9 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 7.7 | — | 7.5 | 6.7 |
| 6 Sep 2026 | 3.8 | 7.5 | 6.3 | 7.4 | — | 7.3 | 6.6 |
| 30 Aug 2026 | 3.2 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 7.4 | — | 7.4 | 6.5 |
| 23 Aug 2026 | 3.1 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 7.5 | — | 7.3 | 6.5 |
| 16 Aug 2026 | 2.8 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 7.7 | — | 8.2 | 6.8 |
| 2 Aug 2026 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | — | 7.8 | 5.8 |
| 26 Jul 2026 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 6.5 | — | 5.0 |
| 21 Jul 2026 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 6.2 | 5.8 | — | 6.2 |
| 14 Jul 2026 | 5.8 | 7.8 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | — | 6.9 |
| 7 Jul 2026 | 5.5 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 6.6 | 6.7 | — | 6.9 |
| 30 Jun 2026 | 4.8 | 7.9 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 6.8 | — | 6.8 |
Visa Friction is a policy-based score (0–10, higher = easier entry), computed weekly from Cambodia’s entry-policy facts: eVisa availability and processing time (3.0), visa cost (2.0), visa-free coverage of the top-10 source markets (3.0), visa-on-arrival fallback (1.0), and stay/extension rules (1.0). Current: 6.9 — 3/10 of the top-10 source markets enter visa-free (Thailand 14d, Vietnam 30d, Laos 30d). The China pilot lapsed on 15 October 2026: the 14-day visa-free entry for Chinese ordinary passports was not extended, so the policy score fell from 7.2 to 6.9 this week and the largest pre-pandemic source market now re-enters on eVisa (USD 30) or visa-on-arrival. No extension has been announced since; the ministry’s recruitment of tourism attachés to post in China continues as a demand-side measure. Policy series starts 20 September 2026; earlier weeks were not policy-derived and are shown as —.
| Market | Trend | Sentiment | Airlift | Key Signal This Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | ▼ Visa-free pilot lapsed 15 Oct | 🟡 Mixed | Guangzhou, Xiamen, Shanghai — direct; visa-free entry ended 15 Oct | The 14-day visa-free pilot for Chinese ordinary passports ran out on 15 October with no extension announced, so the pre-pandemic number-one market now enters on eVisa or visa-on-arrival and the policy score fell from 7.2 to 6.9. Chinese-language search does not yet reflect the change: the entry-question answer set is still made of encyclopedia pages, provincial foreign-affairs offices (Sichuan’s page is stamped 11 September 2026) and visa agencies, with the official e-visa site sitting at #10 on Google China and returning a bot-verification interstitial on Baidu. Domestic demand-side work continues — the ministry is recruiting tourism attachés to post in China — and Chinese-language writing about the coast (Koh Rong, Sihanoukville) is the fastest-growing positive cluster. |
| South Korea | – Holding | 🟡 Mixed | Korean Air, Asiana (redistribution) | No fresh Korea-specific headline in this cycle’s window. Standing position unchanged: Seoul has lifted travel bans on parts of Cambodia following improved security, while Korean Air’s flexible-cancellation policy on Cambodia routes persists as a demand signal in the other direction. The arrivals collapse and the growth downgrade are the items Korean trade coverage picks up, but nothing route- or market-specific moved this week, so the read stays flat. |
| Thailand | ▼ Frontier static — shrine empty | 🔴 Critical | Air corridor open — land crossings still closed | The frontier stayed the week’s hardest image: the ancient clifftop shrine on the disputed border was reported standing empty (Australian Financial Review, 14 October), Cambodia brought a Singapore military rotation into the ASEAN border-monitoring mission (Khmer Times, 11 October), and the prime minister offered the former opposition leader talks on the border with a guarantee of safety (Asia News Network, 13 October). The formal risk picture is unchanged — everything within 50 km of the border sits at Level 4, ‘Do Not Travel’, inside a countrywide Level 2. Thailand remains the single largest drag inside the Safety score, and the land crossings remain closed to tourists. |
| USA / Canada | – Holding — no fresh headline | 🟡 Mixed | Open Skies in force; Air Transat codeshare approved | No market-specific North American item moved this cycle: last week’s Air Transat codeshare approval stands as the market’s first Canadian link into the country, and the advisory position is unchanged from the 15 September Level 2 refresh. North American coverage this week was demand-side and negative — the arrivals collapse and the World Bank’s cut to 3.5% — plus luxury recognition for Raffles Hotel Le Royal in a US-published ranking. The trafficking-in-persons tier placement continued to circulate on social platforms, which keeps the safety frame live even in a quiet news week. |
| Europe | ▲ Brand and heritage wins | 🟡 Mixed | TK live; winter Prague–Sihanoukville charters | Europe supplied the week’s reputational wins rather than new capacity: Raffles Hotel Le Royal was named No. 7 hotel in Southeast Asia by Condé Nast Traveller (15–16 October) and West Mebon temple reopened restored inside the Angkor park (Xinhua, 16 October), while Australian trade put the 2027/28 Vietnam–Cambodia river collection on sale (Travel Weekly AU, 14 October) — a long-haul Mekong product signal rather than a European capacity move. Standing: Turkish Airlines is live and the first direct Prague–Sihanoukville winter charters are booked for the coming season; the German competitiveness programme announced earlier in the month continues. |
| ASEAN / India | ▲ Trade ties compounding | 🟢 Positive | Regional corridors + buyer programmes | The regional file stayed the most consistently positive: the Viet Nam–Cambodia International Commerce and Culture Forum met to promote business ties (en.qdnd.vn, 17 October), bilateral trade was reported at USD 8.7 billion with a USD 20 billion target reaffirmed (Retail News Asia, 11 October), and the Mekong sub-region was pitched as turning the rainy season into a tourism draw (Newswav, 12 October). At home, the Cambodia Branding Forum 2026 set out a product vision for Siem Reap’s active and adventure segment (Travel Daily News Asia-Pacific, 11 October) and Pchum Ben delivered 2.16 million domestic travellers over 10–12 October (Xinhua, 13 October). |
| Central Asia New | ▲ New vector — direct-flight proposals | 🟡 Mixed | None yet — direct flights proposed, not filed | A genuinely new market vector appeared this cycle. Kazakhstan’s president proposed direct flights between Kazakhstan and Cambodia and seven MoUs were signed with tourism named in the joint statement (DKNews.kz and Khmer Times, 17 October; The Astana Times, 17 October), days after an Azerbaijan–Cambodia business forum where Cambodia invited Azerbaijani companies into tourism and the two sides discussed air links and an investment-protection agreement (Trend, Report.az and Apa.az, 12–13 October). Treat as intent, not capacity: no route is filed and no carrier has committed, so this sits outside the airlift count until a schedule appears. |
Real monthly Google search volumes (US) for 25 Cambodia traveller questions, plus who ranks — collected 18 Oct 2026. The English and Chinese markets ask different questions; this section shows the English picture.
| Query | Searches/mo (US) | Top-ranking domains |
|---|---|---|
| vietnam vs cambodia | 1,900 | espn.com, flashscore.com and reddit.com — the phrase doubles as a football fixture, so travel intent is ambiguous |
| siem reap hotels | 1,000 | forbestravelguide.com now leads, with booking.com and reddit.com behind it (last week a table-booking site held the slot) |
| best time to visit cambodia | 880 | specialist operators and guide brands (absoluteasiatravel.com, selectiveasia.com, izitour.com) |
| is cambodia safe to travel | 390 | journeycambodia.com, quora.com and facebook.com — an operator, a Q&A site and a social platform, not the destination |
| cambodia visa on arrival | 390 | the official pair now leads — evisa.gov.kh and arrival.gov.kh ahead of cambodiatours.com (agencies led this slot last week) |
| cambodia visa requirements | 210 | official and reference sources — evisa.gov.kh, travel.state.gov, en.wikipedia.org |
| phnom penh things to do | 170 | independent travel blogs (alovelyplanet.com, adventurous-travels.com) ahead of tripadvisor.com |
| angkor wat sunrise tour | 140 | tour sellers and guides (angkordoors.com, tripadvisor.com, guidingcambodia.com) — a commercial intent cluster |
Safety-query landscape (English): is cambodia safe to travel (390/mo) — journeycambodia.com, quora.com, facebook.com; is sihanoukville safe (20/mo) — theaseanpost.com, curioussparrowtravel.com, facebook.com; is phnom penh safe for tourists (10/mo) — reddit.com, intrepidtravel.com, adventurouskate.com; cambodia scam warning (below the reporting floor) — ourmidland.com, sfgate.com, reddit.com. No safety query captured the top organic slot this cycle either; the highest captured position across the safety cluster is #2, because answer-box elements occupy the positions above it. Three of the 25 tracked queries returned no volume (koh rong island guide, cambodia scam warning, do they accept credit cards in cambodia) and are reported as not surfaced rather than estimated.
Who dominates English answers: tripadvisor.com (16 top-10 placements), facebook.com (13), reddit.com (7), youtube.com (5), quora.com (4) and expedia.com (4) across 25 queries. Cambodia’s own domains appear in none of the top slots on any query except the two official visa and entry pages, which is the one place this cycle where the destination outranks the intermediaries — on entry questions the official sites moved ahead of visa agencies.
English vs China — the contrast: the biggest English query is vietnam vs cambodia (1,900/mo) and it is football-contaminated, so the largest single volume number is not travel demand at all. English safety questions are answered by a forum, an operator, a Q&A site and the press; the Chinese-language safety question is answered almost entirely inside Baidu’s own surfaces and self-media. The sharpest divergence this cycle is on entry: the English visa-on-arrival slot is now led by the official e-visa and arrival-card sites, while the Chinese entry slots are led by agencies and encyclopedia pages and the official site on Baidu returns a verification interstitial. With the visa-free pilot ending 15 October, that gap matters more than it did a week ago.
Volumes are monthly US Google searches from keyword-data platforms; rankings are live Google US results, 18 Oct 2026. The tracked keyword set rotates, so week-to-week tables are not directly comparable. Tracked weekly.
What Travelers Ask AI About Cambodia
Three views of one channel: how much AI-search demand cambodia gets, which questions drive it, and what AI actually answers. Collected 2026-10-18 01:04 UTC. AI assistants now answer a growing share of trip-planning questions before the traveler reaches any website — this section measures that channel directly.
The destination’s monthly footprint inside AI search: how often cambodia is mentioned in AI-generated answers, and how much AI-search volume the topic carries. A demand gauge for the AI channel itself. Six months shown; the sparkline is the shape of the year.
| Month | AI mentions of Cambodia | AI-search volume on the topic | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 20,266 | 22,644,680 | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| Jun 2026 | 6,571 | 5,580,940 | ▼ ▇▇▇ -68% |
| Jul 2026 | 15,876 | 13,103,100 | ▲ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ +142% |
| Aug 2026 | 11,733 | 2,482,710 | ▼ ▇▇▇▇▇ -26% |
| Sep 2026 | 21,557 | 9,846,340 | ▲ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ +84% |
| Oct 2026 (month in progress) | 6,767 | 242,790 | — partial, excluded from trends |
6-month change in completed months: +6% — Oct is a partial month and is shown but excluded from trend comparisons.
Measured, not guessed: how often each question runs inside AI search in the US, with its six-month movement. The pattern worth knowing: destination nouns beat clever phrasings — people type the place name into AI, then converse. Questions with no measurable volume are dropped, and the candidate pool is re-probed monthly, so the list below follows real demand rather than our assumptions.
| Question | AI searches/mo | 6-month trend | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| phnom penh | 3,724 | ↓ █▇▇▇▆▆ | -19% |
| siem reap | 3,577 | ↓ █▇▇▇▆▆ | -17% |
| travel to cambodia | 959 | ↑ ▆▇█▇▇▇ | +31% |
| cambodia visa on arrival | 205 | ↓ ▆▇█▇▆▅ | -23% |
| how many days in cambodia | 110 | ↓ █▆▆▅▅▄ | -46% |
| cambodia food what to eat | 83 | ↑ ▁▁▁▁▁█ | new |
| is cambodia safe for tourists | 81 | ↓ █▆▆▆▇▆ | -15% |
| cambodia itinerary | 67 | ↓ █▅▅▅▂▂ | faded |
| best beaches in cambodia | 49 | ↑ ▂▂▃▃▇█ | new |
| best time to visit cambodia | 25 | → ▇▆▆▇▇█ | +3% |
The demand table says how many people ask; this is what they hear back. Verbatim ChatGPT answers to real cambodia travel questions, captured live this week, with the follow-up questions the assistant itself suggests. Read it the way a DMO reads its own brochure — this is the destination’s de-facto front door for a growing share of trip planning.
Q: What is there to do in Siem Reap besides Angkor Wat?
Siem Reap is much more than Angkor Wat! It’s a great place to experience Cambodian food, traditional arts, floating villages, countryside scenery, lively markets, and Khmer culture. You can easily fill 2–4 days beyond the temples without running out of things to do.
The best things to do in Siem Reap
1. Visit a floating village on Tonlé Sap Lake
(Best day trip)
Take a boat through villages built on stilts, see local life on the water, and explore flooded mangrove forests where accessible. Kampong Phluk is a popular choice, especially during the wet season.
Allow 3–5 hours · Best in daylight
AI-suggested follow-ups: best things to do in Siem Reap besides Angkor Wat Tonle Sap Phare circus cooking classes markets countryside
Q: Is Cambodia worth visiting in 2026?
Yes — Cambodia is absolutely worth visiting in 2026, especially if you love ancient temples, fascinating history, Southeast Asian food, beautiful landscapes, and travel that offers excellent value for money.
My biggest recommendation is to go for more than just Angkor Wat. Cambodia has a lot to offer beyond its most famous landmark. However, there is an important safety consideration this year: the U.S. State Department's September 2026 advisory warns against travel within 50 km of the Cambodian–Thai border because of ongoing tensions. You should check the latest guidance before booking. travel.state.govwww.gov.uk
What makes Cambodia worth visiting?
1. Angkor Wat and the ancient temples
(Must-see)
The ex
AI-suggested follow-ups: Cambodia travel 2026 safety tourism Angkor Wat official travel advice · Cambodia tourism 2026 best places visit season travel costs · Cambodia travel advisory October 2026 safety border latest US State Department
Q: Is Cambodia safe for tourists right now?
Yes, Cambodia can be a safe destination for tourists, but I’d recommend extra caution and checking current travel advisories before you go. Safety varies considerably by region, and ordinary tourist risks are different from risks associated with border areas.
For a typical trip to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat), Phnom Penh, or Cambodia’s beach destinations, the main things to consider are petty theft, road safety, scams, medical access, and any current security restrictions.
Because you're asking about safety right now, the most important distinction is between the established tourist areas and places where security conditions may be more volatile.
Current safety situation — October 2026
Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
Generally a viable tourist destination with normal precautions, but the province has unexploded-ordnance risks in remote areas. Stay on estab
AI-suggested follow-ups: Cambodia travel advisory October 2026 US State Department security border areas · Cambodia travel safety latest October 2026 tourist areas landmines crime scams
Q: How many days do you need in Cambodia?
I’d recommend 7–10 days in Cambodia for a first trip. That gives you time to see the incredible temples of Angkor, experience Cambodian culture, and relax without rushing between destinations.
How many days should you spend?
3–4 days — A quick trip
(Temple highlights)
Ideal if you're combining Cambodia with Thailand or Vietnam. Spend most of your time in Siem Reap exploring Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm.
5–7 days — A great introduction
(Best for a short holiday)
Explore the Angkor temples, enjoy Siem Reap's food and markets, and add Phnom Pe
Go deeper: we ran this same analysis at audit level for Kampot, Cambodia — ten traveler questions, every citation, who wins and who is invisible. Read the Kampot AI-visibility audit →
Answers are captured live from ChatGPT (web search enabled, English, US) on the collection date; wording varies between runs and models. The question set is validated against AI-search demand before entering the weekly pack, so the monitor tracks questions travelers actually ask. For a full AI-visibility audit of your destination, contact us. Updated 2026-10-18.
What Chinese-language search surfaces for Cambodia travel — 14 keywords tracked on Google China and Baidu (mobile, Chinese-language queries). Titles are verbatim; the English column translates them. Collected 18 Oct 2026. Ten results per engine are shown for platform balance, drawn from 133 Google China and 100 Baidu organic results this cycle (233 in total, no empty keyword blocks).
| Platform | Chinese Title | English |
|---|---|---|
| Google China | ||
| Google China | 去柬埔寨旅行安全吗？ | Is it safe to travel in Cambodia? (Q&A thread) — zhuanlan.zhihu.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #1 |
| Google China | 提醒在柬埔寨中国公民注意安全 | Chinese embassy in Cambodia: reminder to Chinese citizens on safety — kh.china-embassy.gov.cn · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #4 |
| Google China | 柬埔寨对游客安全吗？泰国边境关闭与地雷 | Is Cambodia safe for tourists? The Thai border closure and landmines — www.roafly.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #6 |
| Google China | 國外遊記柬埔寨自由行！這裡沒有你以為的危險（上）⚠️第一篇都市篇 | Independent travel in Cambodia — it is not as dangerous as you think — www.dcard.tw · query: 柬埔寨自由行攻略 · #3 |
| Google China | eVisa Kingdom of Cambodia (Official Government Website) | The official e-visa portal — only tenth on Google China, behind agencies and an encyclopedia entry — www.evisa.gov.kh · query: 柬埔寨签证办理 · #10 |
| Google China | 金边生活成本位列东南亚第4，仅次于新加坡、普吉和曼谷 | Phnom Penh cost of living ranks 4th in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore, Phuket and Bangkok — www.khmertimeschinese.com · query: 柬埔寨消费水平 · #4 |
| Google China | 西港高龙岛的转型之路：从传统渔村到旅游天堂 | Koh Rong’s transformation: from fishing village to tourism paradise — www.khmertimeschinese.com · query: 高龙岛旅游攻略 · #6 |
| Google China | 前往柬埔寨的最佳时间：综合指南 | The best time to visit Cambodia: a complete guide (an airline’s own guide) — blog.bangkokair.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游最佳季节 · #1 |
| Google China | 【吳哥窟旅遊】柬埔寨自由行必去人氣景點與美食交通攻略 | Angkor: the must-see sights, food and transport guide — www.kkday.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游攻略 · #1 |
| Google China | 2019年柬埔寨旅行至全攻略，有这篇就GO了！ | The 2019 complete Cambodia travel guide — ‘this one is all you need’ (still ranking) — zhuanlan.zhihu.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游攻略 · #11 |
| Baidu | ||
| Baidu | 走遍东南亚才发现,柬埔寨是唯一让我感到不安全的地方 | Having travelled Southeast Asia, Cambodia is the only place that made me feel unsafe — baijiahao.baidu.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #4 |
| Baidu | 从旅游天堂到电诈地狱,柬埔寨为何沦为东南亚最可怕的罪恶深渊? | From tourist paradise to scam hell: why Cambodia became Southeast Asia’s most feared abyss — www.baidu.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #6 |
| Baidu | 比缅北还要恐怖!从前人人都想去的热门旅游胜地,现在彻底沦为... | More terrifying than northern Myanmar: a destination that has become… — baijiahao.baidu.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #9 |
| Baidu | 别被噶腰子骗了!真实的柬埔寨,比你想的复杂,被低估的美食天堂 | Do not be fooled by the organ-harvesting stories: the real Cambodia is more complex, and an underrated food paradise — baijiahao.baidu.com · query: 柬埔寨旅游安全吗 · #10 |
| Baidu | Authentication challenge pages | e-Visa official site — the result is a bot-verification interstitial, not the visa page — www.evisa.gov.kh · query: 柬埔寨签证办理 · #2 |
| Baidu | 柬埔寨王国(金边)_亚洲 | Kingdom of Cambodia (Phnom Penh) — Shanghai municipal foreign-affairs office country page — wsb.sh.gov.cn · query: 柬埔寨签证办理 · #4 |
| Baidu | 柬埔寨(2026年9月11日更新) - 中共四川省委外事工作委员会办公室(四川省外事办公室、四川省港澳事务办公室) | Cambodia (updated 11 September 2026) — Sichuan provincial foreign-affairs office — www.scwsb.gov.cn · query: 柬埔寨签证办理 · #5 |
| Baidu | 本想去柬埔寨穷游,没想到现在的金边物价已经追上国内二线城市了 | I planned a budget trip to Cambodia — Phnom Penh prices have caught up with China’s second-tier cities — baijiahao.baidu.com · query: 柬埔寨消费水平 · #3 |
| Baidu | 在柬埔寨西哈努克港呆了一周,满大街都是中文招牌和灰色产业 | A week in Sihanoukville: Chinese signage and grey industry on every street — baijiahao.baidu.com · query: 西哈努克港攻略 · #4 |
| Baidu | 高龙岛旅游全攻略:交通、玩法、防晒指南 | Koh Rong travel guide: transport, things to do and sun protection — mbd.baidu.com · query: 高龙岛旅游攻略 · #2 |
| Source | What We Track | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| Public News | Cambodia tourism headlines, policy, route announcements | Policy changes, airlift news, macro context |
| Social Media | Posts on X mentioning Cambodia travel + location data | Real-time sentiment, breaking news |
| Forums | Reddit travel communities (r/travel, r/solotravel, r/Cambodia, r/digitalnomad) | Traveller questions, trip reports, scam warnings |
| Review Platforms | Hotel & restaurant ratings, attractions, tours | Quality perception, experience signals |
| Hotel Booking Data | Property listings and ratings across key cities | Supply-side and value signals |
| Travel Forums | Traveller-forum topic threads for Cambodia | Practical questions, access problems, warnings |
| Search Demand | Monthly search volumes and live rankings for 25 English traveller queries | What travellers ask, and who answers them |
| Flight Routes | Route-level pricing across regional and long-haul markets | Access signals — feeds the airlift page |
| AI Search | Monthly AI-mention counts, AI-search demand per question, and verbatim ChatGPT answers for Cambodia | The AI-search channel — what travelers ask AI and what it answers (AI Search Trends section) |
| Chinese Search | Google China and Baidu organic results for 14 Cambodia travel keywords | Chinese market intelligence — content landscape and perception |
Official tourism data is inherently incomplete. Cambodia reports arrivals and a regional source-market split to the UN Tourism database, but it reports no Tourism Satellite Account (TDGDP) — so there is no official UN figure for tourism’s share of Cambodia’s GDP. It also does not publish a country-level source-market breakdown to the UN. To understand what is really happening with arrivals, spend, flights, overland travel and 5-star demand, we have to apply judgment and look at what the data does and doesn’t tell us.
For context, here is tourism’s share of GDP (Tourism Direct GDP) among Cambodia’s regional peers, as reported to UN Tourism:
| Country | Tourism Direct GDP (% of GDP) | Latest year |
|---|---|---|
| Viet Nam | 9.2% | 2019 |
| Philippines | 8.9% | 2024 |
| Malaysia | 4.5% | 2023 |
| Indonesia | ~5.0% | 2019 |
| Thailand | 2.8% | 2022 |
| Cambodia | No official figure | — |
Source: UN Tourism Statistics Database (bulk download, May 2026 edition). UN Tourism’s TDGDP is a conservative direct measure, so figures run lower than the “direct + indirect” shares Cambodia’s own authorities sometimes cite. Cambodia’s TSA figure, where available, comes from the Ministry of Tourism / National Institute of Statistics — not the UN package.
The demand signals above sit on top of an economy. These World Bank and IMF figures give the context: how much headroom, how much credit, and how much real activity sits behind the visitor economy.
| Indicator | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP per capita | USD 2,872 | 2025 | World Bank |
| GDP growth | 5.35% | 2025 | World Bank |
| Inflation (CPI) | 2.35% | 2025 | World Bank |
| Population | 17.85M | 2025 | World Bank |
| Monetary Base | KHR 61.5T · USD 15.0B | 2026-M05 | IMF MFS |
| Broad Money (M3) | KHR 247.7T · USD 60.4B | 2026-M05 | IMF MFS |
| Credit to Private Sector | KHR 248.0T · USD 60.5B | 2026-M05 | IMF MFS |
Full series and methodology: Cambodia Macro & Economic Indicators.
Methodology: Each week we pull mentions from public news sources, social media platforms (X, Reddit), travel review platforms, traveller forums, and hotel booking data. Mentions are tagged by category and scored into positive/neutral/negative. Scores are normalised to 1-10. Search demand is tracked for 25 English traveller queries with monthly volumes and live rankings. Chinese market intelligence is compiled from organic search results across Google China and Baidu for 14 Cambodia travel keywords. Sources and categories can be added, removed, or weighted differently depending on the destination and market maturity.
Note: This is a template, not a fixed product. For emerging destinations with less online chatter, we prioritise structured data (reviews, forums). For mature markets with high mention volume, we add social media, influencer tracking, and video. Every destination gets a signal set designed for its profile.
Prepared for DestinationEconomics — destinationeconomics.com
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