The above pledge was made during the visit of a senior delegation of the Ministry of Tourism and the private sector of Cambodia, led by Mr. Hui Hak, Minister of Tourism, to Nagoya, Japan, to attend the Japan Tourism Expo and the Ministerial Roundtable of the Japan Tourism Fair and a number of related meetings, taking place from September 24 to 26, 2025.
Through this visit, Mr. Hui Hak discussed work with Mr. Hirosawa Ichiro, Mayor of Nagoya, to discuss the establishment of tourism cooperation between Cambodia and Nagoya, Japan.
The two sides shared the common view that both Cambodia and Nagoya, Japan, both have the same world heritage as well as tourism potential with more than 7 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Japan, and which has been upgraded to the level of a strategic partner in every corner, is indeed a driving factor in establishing cooperation on the tourism sector together to promote tourism potential to the people of Nagoya. Of the two tourist destinations, tourism growth increased sequentially year-on-year.
In addition to the above meetings, the Cambodian delegation also met with Mr. Hideaki Ōmura, Governor of Aichi Prefecture, to discuss the establishment of new tourism cooperation. For tourism growth to increase gradually, year on year.
According to Ministry of Tourism data, between January and July 2022, a total of 3.71 million foreign tourists visited Cambodia, down 0.8% compared with the same period in 2024.
The president of the Cambodian Asia-Pacific Tourism Association, Nguyen Sinan, told The Post on September 25 that enhancing good relations will certainly bring a lot of positive consequences for the two countries, especially in terms of economy and tourism.
Ironically, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a Japanese airline, ANA, flying directly to Cambodia, but that is no longer available, with most travel having to pass through international airports in Vietnam.
He stated: "Flight connectivity is playing a very important role in driving economic growth in all sectors.
However, Sinan mentioned that next October, the national carrier Air Cambodia will begin operating flights between Phnom Penh and Tokyo, with a brief landing in Fuzhou, China.
He added that ahead of the presence of COVID-19 cases, there were tourists from three Asian countries that are key players for Cambodia's tourism sector, namely China, South Korea, and Japan, and besides that, there are the US and Europe.
Chairman of the Tourist Guide Association, Mr. Khieu Thi, said that foreign tourists visiting Cambodia have not been very frequent lately, unlike a country in the region, which has a wider media presence than Cambodia and especially has more international flights.
He adds that, however, with the government's efforts to build infrastructure, ports, especially the Texas International Airport, things are going to get better in the coming years.
He stated: "What is important now is to make them (foreigners) know more about Cambodia, this is one of the important roles of the government, making Cambodia known more through participating in international exhibition events and raising promotional billboards from the Cambodian legacy, the flag, as well as the potential of tourist destinations, etc."
According to the General Department of Customs and Government of Cambodia (GDCE), Japan is the fifth largest trading partner of Cambodia, with imports and exports between the two countries totaling $1.67 billion in the first eight months of 2022, an increase of 19.2% compared to the same period in 2024. $3 billion, up 12.5%, while Japan imported $634.48 million.
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