Cambodia looks to US tourism and investment as aviation cooperation advances

辛章西里瓦塔, spokesperson for Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, recently said Cambodia and the United States had reached an Open Skies air transport agreement. He said it would strengthen air connectivity and make tourism, trade and investment cooperation more convenient, with the prospect of attracting more US tourists and businesses to Cambodia for travel, exploratory visits and investment cooperation.
辛章西里瓦塔 said Cambodia-US economic and trade cooperation had continued to deepen in recent years. Bilateral goods trade approached US$13 billion in 2025, providing a sound basis for further cooperation. As aviation cooperation advances, implementing the Open Skies agreement would make travel between the two countries easier, improve air transport facilitation and add momentum to bilateral relations.
According to the Ministry of Tourism figures cited in the report, Cambodia received about 91,000 US visitors from January to May 2026, accounting for 5.9% of international arrivals during that period. The United States was Cambodia’s third-largest source market. Although US arrivals fell 11.6% compared with the same period of 2025, the US remained an important international tourism market for Cambodia.
辛章西里瓦塔 said stronger air transport links and the Open Skies agreement were expected to make Cambodia more attractive to tourists and encourage more US visitors. More convenient air transport would also support US companies conducting market research, investment studies and business cooperation in Cambodia.
He said many US investors continued to watch the Cambodian market and visit to assess the investment environment and development opportunities. Meanwhile, the Cambodian government was improving the business environment, strengthening good governance, and increasing the transparency of legal rules and relevant technical standards to build foreign-investor confidence.
辛章西里瓦塔 said that as Cambodia-US aviation cooperation deepened, the Open Skies agreement was expected to provide important support for travel, trade and investment exchanges, creating further opportunities for bilateral relations.