Cambodia and Japan have agreed to resume direct flights to increase travel between the two nations, with All Nippon Airways leading the way.

According to a post from the Ministry of Tourism on September 21, the agreement was made during a bilateral meeting between Sok Soken, Minister of Tourism, and Ueno Atsushi, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia.

Chhay Sivlin, President of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said that the move is a positive sign in boosting Cambodia’s tourism sector as transportation is an important component.

Even if tourists want to travel to Cambodia, Sivilin said that if they lack access to flights, they will hesitate to do so.

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“Now, every country has a range of flights. If Cambodia has more direct flights, it will assist tourists in selecting Cambodia as their destination,” she said. “Japan is a good market for Cambodia. They like to spend money and they are a major market that our nation wants to have.”

She added that if Cambodia can soon have direct flights with Japan, it will help the nation's tourist sector, particularly for businesses that prepare their products for the Japanese market. “They will be restored [what they lost],” she said.

However, she hopes to receive more Japanese visitors as they tend to enjoy traveling and visiting countries with eco-tourists.

"Since their country is busy, people enjoy visiting other countries. They will travel at least once a year,” she said. “Also, if they come, they stay a long time rather than just short times like tourists from other countries.”

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Sivlin added that Japanese tourists would not only come to Cambodia to visit but also to learn. "They enjoy going to places and getting to know the locals and eco-tourists,” she said. “Therefore, it will be advantageous for people in the community.”

In 2023, the Ministry of Tourism set an ambitious target of attracting 4 to 4.5 million international arrivals. This is about double 2022’s foreign visitors, which stood at 2.28 million.

In 2022, Cambodia received 2,276,626 international visitors, 297,333 of whom were Japanese.