Cambodia’s Bold New Airport Promises to Transform Travel to Phnom Penh—But Will It Deliver?

Following the celebrated Angkor site two years ago, Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, has now inaugurated a new airport that reflects the country’s ambitious tourism goals for the coming years…

50 Million Visitors Expected Annually Within Two Decades

For a long time, anyone wanting to visit Cambodia—whether to see its capital or the unmissable Angkor—typically had to transit through neighboring Thailand and Bangkok’s airport for air connections.

But that was before the country decided to modernize its transportation infrastructure, notably by opening several new airports across its territory. The goal is to significantly increase visitor numbers, first reaching 20 million by the end of the decade and eventually hitting 50 million annually by 2050. That’s quite ambitious considering the country currently attracts around 6 to 7 million tourists per year. Nevertheless, the projects are underway and becoming reality.

In late 2023, the city of Siem Reap, gateway to Angkor, inaugurated an airport with a capacity of 12 million passengers. Now, this month, it’s Phnom Penh’s turn with the Techo International Airport, replacing the old facility that opened in the late 1950s.

Spanning 2,600 hectares about 20 kilometers south of the capital, the new infrastructure can accommodate up to 13 million passengers annually, with capacity expanding to 30 million during a second construction phase. The estimated cost stands at two billion dollars, largely financed by China—as was also the case for the Siem Reap-Angkor airport. This should, in theory, reignite tourist interest in the country, though for now only Asian and Gulf carriers have committed to serving it. No direct flights yet from Europe or North America. Stay tuned…