Arrivals at the Kingdom’s two main international airports rose more than 20 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2013, according to data from Cambodia Airports. Officials said the rise reflects the normalisation of the world economy and the country’s political stability.

According to the data, 750,355 passengers arrived at the two airports over the first quarter, up from 608,281 arrivals in the same period last year.

Kong Sophearak, director of the Ministry of Tourism’s statistics department, attributed the rise in travellers to the improvement of the global economy.

“The increase of tourist arrivals by air is emphasising we have political stability so that people want to visit us. Another thing, we have also received some new airlines coming, and our Cambodia Angkor Air have also increased their number of flights,” he said.

“Recently we have seen Cambodia Airlines, our other national carrier, sign an agreement with foreign investors to operate their business – this proves foreign investors trust our policies.”

Regional tourists, as well as those from South Korea, China and Japan, are responsible for much of the increase in numbers, he said.

The number of arrivals at Phnom Penh International Airport during the first quarter of the year increased by 13.49 per cent, from 261,186 to 296,427. Arrivals at Siem Reap International Airport, meanwhile, jumped by 30.77 per cent, from 347,095 to 453,928.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the government-private sector working group on tourism, said: “I noticed that some existing airlines are increasing the number of loads and flights because they’ve got an increase in the number of passengers.”

Vandy said that if the tourist arrivals trend continued growing at the current rate, it would surpass expectations for tourism growth.