After receiving a green light, the proposed round-trip passenger water link between Kampot Port and Koh Tral, also known as Phu Quoc, was expected to help attract more international tourists to Cambodia. Viet Nam ranked first among Cambodia's international tourist source markets in 2025.
According to the Tourism Ministry's report, Cambodia received more than 5.5 million international visitors in 2025, including approximately 1.22 million Vietnamese visitors, the largest group.
Oknha Suor Virak said negotiations on the round-trip water link had produced many positive results, while a final Vietnamese decision permitting Vietnamese vessels to enter Cambodia was still awaited. He added that he would continue discussions with the Vietnamese side during February.
He said visitor numbers from Viet Nam had increased noticeably over the previous five months. The increase covered both Vietnamese tourists and other foreign travellers transiting through Viet Nam to Cambodia following Cambodia's tensions with Thailand.
He said the Phnom Penh–Ho Chi Minh City route previously had six departures a day, compared with 14 at the time of the report.
The future passenger water connection was expected to have a significant positive effect on attracting more international tourists to Cambodia. By: Pai Sokhim
