Virus Blamed As Angkor Visitors Fall 37%
PHNOM PENH, March 2 (Xinhua) — Cambodia’s famed Angkor Archeological Park received 341,494 foreign tourists in the first two months of 2020 (*222,561 of them in January which was 18% down on 2019), down 37 percent over the same period last year.
The ancient park made gross revenue of 16.2 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales during the January-February period this year, also down 35 percent over the same period last year, said the state-owned Angkor Enterprise in a statement.
The decline was due to the impact of the COVID-19.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen announced last week that the government decided to provide tax breaks for all hotels and guesthouses in northwestern Siem Reap province—the home of the Angkor Archeological Park—for a period of four months from February to May.
He said the tax exemption was aimed at helping them overcome this difficult moment.
Also, the prime minister announced that foreigners who buy one-day tickets to visit the Angkor will be allowed to visit for two days, three-day tickets for five days and week-long tickets for 10 days.
The Angkor Archeological Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992, is the kingdom’s most popular tourist destination.
The entrance fee to the site is 37 U.S. dollars for a one-day visit, 62 dollars for a three-day pass, and 72 dollars for a week-long pass.
