Cambodia offers the best – and some of the most unsettling – aspects of South East Asia’s tourism. Proximate to growing regional source markets such as Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia possesses exceptional tourism assets. Essentially ‘off-limits’ to tourism during a lengthy civil war, it now has the potential to offer pristine tourism experiences unlike other developed countries in the region.

With its raw assets and allure of ‘the next destination’ to be discovered, Cambodia’s greatest challenge is to manage growth in a manner that enables the consistent delivery of quality product. The magic of Angkor Wat and its surrounding ruins will only capture the imagination – and attention – of tourists for so long. To better establish Cambodia’s position as a significant provider of tourism in the South East Asian region, the strategic asset of Angkor Wat must be supplemented with a full menu of attractions, infrastructure improvements, strategic promotion, and a consistent quality of services throughout the country. Key challenges will be to establish and enforce regulations that will assure sustainable tourism development and disperse tourists throughout the country so that all Cambodians can benefit.

Mintel Oxygen Travel Country Reports are quarterly tourism profiles of destination countries. The reports are compiled by a global network of industry analysts, who provide market-based information as well as detailed, insightful and localised interpretation of the facts and figures.

Each profile contains information on:

Tourist arrivals - overnights and expenditure

Purpose of visit - business, leisure or VFR

Accommodation supply - operating performance

Tourism policy - management

Transport - access and infrastructure

Tourism funding - promotion and future development