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Sam Beltran

Watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat once meant fighting for elbow room, a hundred phone screens glowing in the dark as tour buses disgorged crowds chasing the same postcard-perfect shot
These days, the 12th century temple complex is comparatively quiet, with operators reporting an emptying of Cambodia’s most recognisable landmark.
“Angkor is as quiet as I have seen it in years,” said Akim Ly, founder of the Siem Reap-based tour company Adventures Cambodia and a member of the Cambodia Tourism Association.
“The travellers who do come are standing at sunrise with space around them – and that is worth saying out loud.”

Cambodia’s tourism industry is in retreat: squeezed by safety concerns, border clashes with Thailand and reputational damage caused by the scam compounds that proliferated within its borders.
International arrivals were down 47.8 per cent – to 1.54 million – in the first five months of the year, from 2.95 million a year earlier, official figures show.
The collapse comes as a blow to a country in which tourism generates nearly one 10th of gross domestic product – and that only two years ago was celebrating a record 6.7 million international visitors.
Neighbouring nations, by contrast, have recorded only marginal declines as a result of air travel disruptions resulting from the US-Israel war on Iran. Thailand welcomed more than 14 million tourists in the first five months, while Vietnam received more than 10 million over the same period.
The damage to our reputation is real and I won’t pretend otherwise
Akim Ly, Cambodian tour operator
“The damage to our reputation is real and I won’t pretend otherwise,” said Ly, who has been running tours of Angkor Wat and Cambodia’s countryside since 2013.
“It used to be that a guest’s first question was which temple to pick for sunrise. Now the first message is often ‘is Cambodia safe right now?’”
Land arrivals have cratered by 67.5 per cent since Thailand and Cambodia shut their border crossings in June last year amid the clashes, severing a route that once provided a steady stream of visitors to Siem Reap province, where Angkor Wat is located. Air arrivals, meanwhile, have dropped by a comparatively modest 19.8 per cent.
“Regional border conflicts heavily impact land crossings and visitor numbers,” said Win Zaw, managing director of Phnom Penh-based travel company Asia Expeditions. “However, these border issues are far away from major tourist destinations like Siem Reap, Angkor Wat or the coastal island of Koh Kong.”

Scam stigma
Layered atop the border dispute is another detracting factor: Cambodia has become synonymous with scam compounds since the pandemic, attracting allegations of human trafficking, government crackdowns and international scrutiny.
“The scam compounds are a genuine criminal problem,” Ly said. “But nothing about a guest’s trip here, with us or with any operator I know, comes anywhere near that world.”
She added that potential border flashpoints were located “a long way from Angkor” and “Siem Reap itself is calm”.
The tourism slump has also been felt in Mondulkiri, the hilly eastern province bordering Vietnam known for its ecotourism sites and cooler climate.

Sokunthea Yin, a local tour guide who owns the Bamboo Cafe and Valley Lodge in Mondulkiri, said the European visitors who once flocked to the province for jungle treks and nature retreats were now largely absent – though domestic tourists on weekend escapes had partly filled the gap.
“Tourist numbers in Mondulkiri have dropped compared to previous years,” he said, adding that many of the foreigners who did still make the journey “arrive pleasantly surprised by how peaceful Cambodia actually is compared to exaggerated or negative reports online”.
In March, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet acknowledged that safety concerns were causing a downturn in tourist arrivals, while assuring visitors that the country was “fully safe” and pledging to “clean house” of the scam networks threatening its economy and reputation.
The government has since launched a campaign to attract international tourists during the rainy season, from May to October, and this month appointed Cambodian champion cyclist Tiv Dararith as a tourism goodwill ambassador.

A new tourism pitch?
For some in the industry, the current crisis carries with it an opportunity to break with the trend of Cambodia being sold as a short stop on holidays to elsewhere in the Mekong region.
“For years we accepted being sold as a two-night add-on to a Thailand holiday. See the temples, back to the beach,” Ly said.
But the country was “worth a full week rather than 48 hours”, she added, pointing to the relative resilience of air arrivals as evidence of the “travellers who chose Cambodia on purpose rather than as a side trip”.
Ly argued that the country needed to court long-haul travellers who planned months in advance, lingered longer and tended to spend money more freely.

Peter Brongers, a former vice-president of the Cambodia Tourism Federation, wrote in The Diplomat in May that Cambodian tourism’s “one structural weakness” was its overreliance on Angkor Wat.
“The country needs to embrace the opportunity to tell the world of all the other reasons to come,” Brongers wrote.
Zaw said Cambodia’s geography – located between Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – had long spurred its inclusion in cheap, multi-country itineraries.
He sees an opening to reposition the country as a premium tourism destination, at a “significantly more reasonable cost” than its neighbours, trading on its nature, wildlife, beaches, food, golf and history.
Yin pointed to the country’s Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri highlands, Cardamom mountains and Chi Phat as areas of untapped tourism potential, as well as riverside communities along the Mekong for travellers interested in wildlife and rural life.
Promoting these regions “will encourage tourists to stay longer, spread tourism income directly to rural communities and experience the untouched natural beauty of Cambodia”, Yin said.


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Cambodia

Restoration work is seen on a balustrade at the Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, on July 20. Photo: ANA/Xinhua

Tourists jostle for a picture of the sunrise over the central stupa of Angkor Wat temple in 2018. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Quieter times: restoration work is seen at the Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, on July 20. Photo: ANA/Xinhua

Computer monitors are seen inside an alleged scam compound at the Thai-Cambodian border raided by Thai troops in March. Photo: Reuters

A road is seen winding through forest in Cambodia’s hilly eastern Mondulkiri province. Photo: AFP

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet (centre) cuts the ribbon at the opening of a new road in Kampong Cham province earlier this month. Photo: Xinhua

An aerial view of Cambodia’s new Techo International Airport, near Phnom Penh, which began operations last year. Photo: AKP/EPA

A compound near the Thai-Cambodian border Thailand’s military said was used for scam operations, pictured in March. Photo: Reuters

Debris and barbed wire in front of buildings inside a former scam compound in O’Smach, Cambodia, near Thailand’s Chong Chom area, in March. Photo: Reuters

Equipment confiscated in a raid by Cambodian police is laid out on a table at a scam centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in March. Photo: AP

Detained scam centre suspects sleep at the Commissariat of Phnom Penh Municipal Police in Phnom Penh in March. Photo: AFP

Can Asean keep the Thailand-Cambodia peace?

The Asean Observer Team visits an area of Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province where a civilian was killed. Photo: AKP/AFP

A delegation from the Asean Observer Team visit Cambodian civilians in a hospital in November. Photo: AKP/AFP

Cambodian soldiers stand guard in front of containers and barbed wire deployed by Thailand at the border in March. Photo: EPA

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (centre) looks on as Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn (left)and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow shake hands in Yunnan province in December. Photo: AKP/AFP

A man kneels beside unexploded mortar shells in Cambodia on January 3 following earlier clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers. Photo: AFP

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Tourist arrivals have collapsed by nearly 50 per cent this year, forcing local operators to rethink Cambodia’s entire pitch


Tourist arrivals have collapsed by nearly 50 per cent this year, forcing local operators to rethink Cambodia’s entire pitch.


Cambodia’s tourism slump leaves Angkor Wat eerily quiet

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tourist arrivals have collapsed by nearly 50 per cent this year, forcing local operators to rethink Cambodia’s entire pitch

Tourist arrivals have collapsed by nearly 50 per cent this year, forcing local operators to rethink Cambodia’s entire pitch