Cambodia aviation Part 1: China visitor surge makes Cambodia the fastest growth market in SE Asia

Cambodia's aviation market grew by 13% in 2014, the fastest rate in Southeast Asia, driven by a surge in traffic from China. Cambodia has now experienced double digit passenger growth for five consecutive years, an impressive but little known achievement.

Passenger traffic across Cambodia's three airports increased by 13% to 5.7 million in 2014 as Siem Reap surpassed the 3 million mark for the first time. The growth rate slowed from 18% in 2013 but outpaced other Southeast Asian markets as the Cambodian tourism sector seemed to benefit from turmoil among its neighbouring destinations. Tourist arrivals at Cambodia's two international airports were up by about 13%, driven by an over 20% increase in arrivals from China.

This is the first in a two-part series of analysis reports on the Cambodian market. This report will look at the overall market and expansion by foreign carriers. The second report will look at the surge in start-up activity in the Cambodian airline sector, which should drive further passenger traffic growth in 2015.