Top News

Cambodia beats US to become Vietnam’s fourth largest source of tourists

Samira Vishwas | April 7, 2026 9:24 PM CST

Foreign tourists on a cruise ship in Nha Trang. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Toan

Cambodia has surpassed the U.S. to become Vietnam’s fourth-largest source of inbound tourists in the first quarter, with 330,000 arrivals, up 41% year-on-year.

The U.S., which was the country’s fourth largest source market, fell to sixth place with 302,000 arrivals, marking a 17% increase, according to data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

The number of Cambodian tourists to Vietnam has been on the rise in recent months.

Tourism insiders attributed the surge to Cambodia’s close proximity, affordable travel costs and convenient transport connections.

Air Cambodia currently operates 10 flights a day to Vietnam and has expanded its network to include services from Phnom Penh to Cam Ranh, Da Nang and Phu Quoc.

The new Phnom Penh-Cam Ranh service is twice weekly and a Siem Reap-Cam Ranh is scheduled to launch in mid-2026.

Vietnam welcomed 6.76 million international visitors in the first three months of the year, up 12% year-on-year and the highest quarterly figure ever recorded.

With nearly 2.1 million international visitors in March, Vietnam has for the first time achieved a new record of receiving over 2 million visitors for three consecutive months in a year, according to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.