Cambodia has fired the starting pistol on its most ambitious tourism-recovery drive since the pandemic, announcing a new visa-free pilot that explicitly includes travellers holding Hong Kong and Macao passports alongside mainland Chinese. Under the scheme—gazetted on 18 January 2026—Hong Kong residents may enter Cambodia without a visa between 15 June and 15 October 2026 for stays of up to 14 days per visit. Multiple entries are allowed during the four-month window, provided visitors complete the country’s digital E-Arrival Card before departure. (travelandtourworld.com)
The waiver is aimed at restoring Chinese-language tourist flows to pre-Covid levels. Cambodia welcomed 1.1 million mainland Chinese visitors in the first 11 months of 2025 but only 54 000 from Hong Kong—a fraction of the 180 000 recorded in 2019. Officials are banking on the new Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport and aggressive airline seat-capacity increases to funnel family and MICE traffic back to Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and the beach resort of Sihanoukville.
Travellers who fall outside the visa-free window, or who need longer stays or specialised permits, can streamline the paperwork through VisaHQ’s Hong Kong portal. The service (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers quick online applications, live support and courier options, helping both individuals and corporate travel managers secure Cambodian e-visas, business visas and work permits with minimal hassle.
![Cambodia grants four-month visa-free entry to Hong Kong passport holders this summer]()
For Hong Kong–based corporates the opportunity is two-fold. Short-haul business travellers inspecting factories along the China–Cambodia Industrial Corridor can now avoid the US $36 visa-on-arrival fee and the administrative burden of advance e-visas. Travel-management companies estimate a per-trip saving of HK $350 and at least 30 minutes in airport processing time, modest but meaningful for executives who shuttle between Hong Kong, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City in a single week.
The fine print matters. The waiver does not extend to employment authorisations; assignees working on construction or fintech projects must still obtain an EB business visa and, where applicable, a work permit. Overstays beyond the 14-day limit will incur daily fines and potential blacklisting. Corporate mobility teams should therefore update their policy matrices, brief travellers on the mandatory E-Arrival Card and monitor overstays through their relocation vendors.
Tour operators expect the biggest uplift in August, when Hong Kong’s school holidays overlap with the visa-free window. Cathay Pacific and Cambodia Angkor Air are reportedly evaluating extra A321 flights, while Hong Kong start-ups in eco-tourism are eyeing joint ventures around Siem Reap. If the pilot meets Cambodia’s target of a 25 % year-on-year rise in Chinese-language arrivals, officials say they will consider extending the waiver or negotiating reciprocal arrangements with Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR Government.
The waiver is aimed at restoring Chinese-language tourist flows to pre-Covid levels. Cambodia welcomed 1.1 million mainland Chinese visitors in the first 11 months of 2025 but only 54 000 from Hong Kong—a fraction of the 180 000 recorded in 2019. Officials are banking on the new Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport and aggressive airline seat-capacity increases to funnel family and MICE traffic back to Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and the beach resort of Sihanoukville.
Travellers who fall outside the visa-free window, or who need longer stays or specialised permits, can streamline the paperwork through VisaHQ’s Hong Kong portal. The service (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers quick online applications, live support and courier options, helping both individuals and corporate travel managers secure Cambodian e-visas, business visas and work permits with minimal hassle.
For Hong Kong–based corporates the opportunity is two-fold. Short-haul business travellers inspecting factories along the China–Cambodia Industrial Corridor can now avoid the US $36 visa-on-arrival fee and the administrative burden of advance e-visas. Travel-management companies estimate a per-trip saving of HK $350 and at least 30 minutes in airport processing time, modest but meaningful for executives who shuttle between Hong Kong, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City in a single week.
The fine print matters. The waiver does not extend to employment authorisations; assignees working on construction or fintech projects must still obtain an EB business visa and, where applicable, a work permit. Overstays beyond the 14-day limit will incur daily fines and potential blacklisting. Corporate mobility teams should therefore update their policy matrices, brief travellers on the mandatory E-Arrival Card and monitor overstays through their relocation vendors.
Tour operators expect the biggest uplift in August, when Hong Kong’s school holidays overlap with the visa-free window. Cathay Pacific and Cambodia Angkor Air are reportedly evaluating extra A321 flights, while Hong Kong start-ups in eco-tourism are eyeing joint ventures around Siem Reap. If the pilot meets Cambodia’s target of a 25 % year-on-year rise in Chinese-language arrivals, officials say they will consider extending the waiver or negotiating reciprocal arrangements with Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR Government.
