Cambodia’s key tourism sector showed further signs of recovery in September, local media reported on Wednesday, citing the newly released Ministry of Tourism data, although all-important air arrivals remained down on last year.
Total arrivals in the Kingdom hit 151,937 in September, the figures showed, up 4.68 percent on the same period last year and beating average annualized growth in first eight months of the year at l.68 percent, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
However, air arrivals, which bring in longer term, long-haul passengers that traditionally spend more, remained well down from last year.
In September, 72,671 air passengers flew into Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports, down from 82,764 during the same month last year, a drop of 12.5 percent.
Though more passengers arrived by air in the first eight months of last year than in the first nine months of this year, September’s fall was better than the 13.03 percent decline recorded on average over the first eight months, suggesting things are picking up after a dismal first three months of the year.
Also, visitors to Siem Reap – Cambodia’s main tourism destination – fell 8.45 percent in the first nine months on last year, while 12.18 percent more visitors went to Phnom Penh over the same period.
Latest figures showed that the third quarter was the best of the year with a 8.39-percent rise in total arrivals compared to growth of 2.25 percent in the second quarter and a contraction of 3.4 percent in the first.