Cambodia Airports Co expects to handle 10 million passengers by the end of 2018, an increase of 1.2 million year-on-year possible thanks to the growing number of flights and a booming tourism sector.
Eric Delobel, chief executive officer of Cambodia Airports, said that, with the number of passengers expected to continue rising, the company is now working on upgrading the airports’ facilities.
“Last year, we handled 8.8 million passengers in all three international airports and this year our goal is 10 million,” the Khmer Times on Tuesday quoted Delobel as saying.
“I am confident that we are going to reach the goal and be able to accommodate 10 million passengers.”
“We are already very close to that goal, so we are pretty sure we will reach it.
However, he added that, “There is still a lot of room for improvement: Air activities, connectivity and other areas that we are focusing on with the help of the government in order to promote destinations.
“For example, we are working with the Ministry of Tourism to promote and develop the image of the Kingdom and to promote destinations in Cambodia,” Delobel said.
Cambodia Airports administers airports in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihnoukville.
Air travellers in Cambodia can access over 60 destinations in Asia, including China, South Korea, and Japan, as well as connections to air travel hubs like Qatar and Dubai.
Delobel also announced plans to establish new routes from the Kingdom to Australia, India, and Russia.
Chinese tourists continue to top the list of tourists to the Kingdom by nationality. They accounted for 1.6 million, or 33.7%, of all 4.8 million foreign tourists that visited Cambodia during the first ten months of the year.