Trip.com pulls out of Cambodia tourism partnership following user data security concerns

Online travel platform Trip.com has walked away from a newly signed partnership with Cambodia’s tourism authorities after anxious users in China and Thailand voiced fears about the safety of their personal data.

The unease began after Chinese outlet ST Headline reported that Trip.com had struck a tourism promotion deal with Cambodia’s National Tourism Authority (NTA). Signed on Dec 1 by senior officials from both sides, the agreement was meant to encourage more travellers to visit the country.

Instead, it sparked a backlash. Many Chinese users took to social media to say they no longer felt comfortable using the platform, worrying that their personal information could be leaked or even end up in the hands of scam networks linked to Cambodia. Some said they were deleting their Ctrip accounts—Trip.com’s parent brand—altogether.

Images of closed accounts quickly spread online. One longtime user shared, “I deleted my Ctrip account last night after eight years. I’d rather pay more for a flight than risk getting scam calls from Cambodia.”

The reaction wasn’t driven by this partnership alone. Many users recalled the documented Ctrip data leak in 2014, supporting worries about how tightly their data is managed.

The unease didn’t stop at China’s frontiers. In Thailand, Channel 3 reported that Trip.com users were also uninstalling the app after hearing about the Cambodia deal, showing how quickly the concerns spread across the region.

Facing growing pressure, Trip.com moved to calm the situation. The company announced it was cancelling the cooperation with Cambodia’s NTA and issued a clarification. Trip.com Thailand stressed that the agreement was purely for tourism marketing and similar to partnerships it has with tourism authorities in many other countries.

Still, the company said it chose to suspend the deal to respect user concerns and maintain trust. Trip.com strongly denied claims that any personal data had been shared or sold and reiterated its commitment to protecting user privacy.

The episode unfolds against wider regional worries about scam operations linked to Cambodia. In October, South Korea imposed stricter measures to protect its citizens, banning travel to several high-risk areas such as Bokor Mountain, Bravet town, and Poipet city.

These restrictions have also had strong impacts for travel to adjacent countries such as Thailand and Vietnam—stressing how safety and security anxieties entwined to Cambodia are now determining and influencing travel choices, and even business alliances, across the region.