Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has set a target to receive 6.4 million international tourists in 2025 and seven million by 2026.

Sok Soken, the new Minister of Tourism, has also set new strategic goals to promote the Cambodian tourism industry, which he wants to be more competitive, sustainable, and inclusive.

Soken succeeded Thong Khon, who has been elevated to the role of Senior Minister in charge of special mission.

The new minister revealed the strategic initiatives during a seminar held at the conference hall of the ministry in Phnom Penh on Friday. Thong Khon, who received praise for his work as tourism minister, was present.

The seminar was also attended by Hor Sarun, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and Top Sopheak, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of MoT, along with Neb Samouth, Director-General of Tourism Industry Management and senior officers from several ministries.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Soken highlighted the development of Cambodia under the leadership of former Prime Minister Hun Sen. Over the past several years, the Kingdom emerged as one of Asia’s prime destinations for international travellers, besides holding tremendous potential for trade and investment opportunities.

Soken, meanwhile, proposed a new initiative to enhance tourism development such as promoting competitive destinations, ensuring sustainable visitors, and fostering inclusive tourism.

The new initiatives aim to develop the tourism sector with excellent quality, dynamism, competitiveness, sustainability, responsibility, and inclusiveness, based on the core principle of ‘Tourism Connecting Territory and Nature’.

They would transform the country into a world-renowned tourist destination that is diverse, full of opportunities and compassion, and one that contributes to elevating Cambodia’s prestige and resilience, the statement added.

The new minister also emphasized the importance of cooperation between all parties in the tourism industry including members of the public and private sectors, community members, tour operators, and development partners.

While speaking to Khmer Times, Lu Wei, Chairman of the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI), also a leading expert in tourism affairs, observed that the first phase of the Pentagon Strategy of the new government has opened a gateway for the airport management to cooperate with several airlines in China for establishing direct flights with Cambodia. The proposal is to link Chinese provinces such as Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangzhou, Jingzhou, and the capital Beijing with Siem Reap.

He added that the new airport in Siem Reap will operate direct flights to the Australian continent and all the European countries also in the future, as the new aircraft can operate non-stop covering a distance of 9,000 km.