Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): On 7 September 2022, Cambodia received two global awards from the World Travel Awards ceremony was held at the ITE HCMC 2022 International Tourism Fair in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The two awards received were for winning Asia's Leading Culture Destination Award 2022 (Asia's Leading Culture Destination 2022) and for being the leading youth tourism destination award in Asia (Asia's Leading Youth Travel Destination 2022). His Excellency Thong Rathsak, Director General of Tourism Development under the Ministry of Tourism, received the two awards on behalf of the people of Cambodia. Approximately 2 million tourists from around the world participated in voting Cambodia as a cultural tourism destination and the leading youth tourism destination in Asia in 2022.
Besides Cambodia, other countries which have received this award include India, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, and 35 other countries.

His Excellency Thong Rathsak said that Cambodia’s award was won through the implementation of the Strategic Plan on the Opening of Vaccinated Tourism which restored and promoted Cambodia's reopening of its tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic was under control. Since implementation, Cambodia has received a 580% increase in international tourist arrivals in the first eight months of 2022, amounting to nearly 1 million tourists.

His Excellency Thong Rathsak continued that many international travelers visited Cambodia after the revival of the Visa-on-Arrival for tourists (Free Visa for ASEAN Travelers). Currently, fully vaccinated tourists can enter the country just by showing their vaccination certificate, while partially or unvaccinated tourists will undergo a rapid test for detection before entry.

HE Thong Rathsak expressed his expectation that by launching its plans to rehabilitate and promote Cambodia's tourism sector, he hopes that the ITE HCMC 2022 International Tourism Expo will help attract more Vietnamese investors and tourists as Vietnam is Cambodia's second largest market with 189,782 visitors for the first seven months of 2022.