Sreekanth Ravindran / Khmer Times
Cambodia is fast emerging as one of the favourite tourist destinations for Australian tourists with 39,300 short-term tourists visiting the Kingdom last year, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The length of tourism trips (involving at least one overnight stay) falls into two categories: long tourism trips are trips with at least four overnight stays; short tourism trips are trips with one to three overnight stays.
Indonesia remained the most favourite travel destination for Australians, followed by Japan, the US, the UK, Thailand, China, India, Fiji and Vietnam.
As per the Australian Travel Industry Association, there had been a substantial increase in outbound travel to countries such as Japan, Indonesia and the US.
“Indonesia remained a favourite destination, with 1.68 million Australian travellers, marking a 22.7 percent rise on a year-to-year basis. Japan recorded an exceptional 56.9 percent increase, with 798,710 Australians travelling there over the past year.
“The United States stood third as it saw 735,210 Australian visitors, showing a 10.2 percent increase.”
Top Sopheak, Secretary of State and a spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), earlier told Khmer Times that Australia is an important tourism market for Cambodia. He noted that after the Covid-19 crisis abated, there has been a steady increase in Australian visitors to the country.
Sopheak said that in 2023, 87,207 Australian tourists visited Cambodia, an increase of 131 percent compared to 2022. In the first nine months of 2024, the number of Australian tourists exceeded 70,000, a significant increase, especially in visits to Siem Reap.
“While the number of Australian tourists has surpassed expectations, they do not rank among the top ten tourism markets nationwide. However, in the Siem Reap Angkor area, they hold the seventh position, following the US, UK, France, Korea, Japan, and China,” said Sopheak.
He noted that Australian tourism is a key market, as Australian visitors tend to stay longer and spend more during their trips.
“Cambodia is ready to welcome more Australian tourists. We in fact welcome all visitors, as our tourism policy does not discriminate against any travellers. In the Siem Reap-Angkor area, we typically see that tourists from the Americas, Europe and Australia are among the most frequent visitors.”
On the flip side, ABS data reveal that between 2022 and 2024, the number of short-term visitors from Cambodia to Australia more than doubled to reach 19,310.
Away from tourism, the data also shed light on strong educational ties between the two nations. “Australia is the most popular English-speaking study destination for Cambodians.
“Almost 4,000 Cambodian students studied in Australia in 2024. Since 1994, more than 27,000 Cambodians have enrolled to study in Australia, including university students, primary and high school students. More than 1,000 Cambodians have been awarded scholarships to study in Australia under the Australia Awards Programme and its predecessors.
“Since 2014, the New Colombo Plan has awarded 14 scholarships and 2,785 mobility grants for Australian undergraduates to undertake study, language training and internships in Cambodia. This includes 124 student mobility grants in the latest 2025 round.”