Tourists Slow To Return to Cambodian Temples After COVID Pandemic

The temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia were once one of Southeast Asia's most visited tourist locations — until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transcript

00:00 A small group of tourists raised their cameras as the sun rises over Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

00:07 In 2019, the temple complex hosted millions of visitors.

00:11 But that changed in 2020.

00:13 "Prior to the COVID period, we had over 5 million tourists, including the domestic ones.

00:22 However, the number of tourists dropped very dramatically, almost to completely zero, including

00:32 the domestic.

00:34 And for some time, I myself, when we went to work at the temple, I was just only a single

00:40 person there."

00:42 During the pandemic, the UNESCO World Heritage Site saw less than 70 visitors a day.

00:48 Now several years since reopening, the echoing halls are still mostly empty.

00:54 And visitors have the Ethro complex to themselves.

00:57 "So, second time here, visited in 2017.

01:01 I've noticed a big difference around the town of Siem Reap in general, actually.

01:05 Places like Pub Street and stuff like that, it's a lot less lively.

01:08 I mean, I prefer that personally.

01:10 But visiting here, Angkor Wat today, it's super quiet.

01:14 But I prefer it, you know?

01:17 It's better."

01:18 But the quiet may not last for much longer.

01:22 An estimated half a million people have already visited in the first three months of 2024.

01:28 And leaders have high hopes that the numbers will continue to rise.

01:31 "I believe that the number would be kept on increasing, especially, you know, a lot of

01:39 effort has been put forward for pushing, you know, Cambodia as the best tourist destination

01:45 or most visited destination in Southeast Asia."

01:50 Those efforts include much-needed repairs to the archaeological site and a newly built

01:55 airport funded by China.

01:58 For now, the smaller, more playful visitors have the run of the mostly empty temples.

02:04 And officials hope the tourists will soon follow.

02:08 James Lynn and Harrell Hughes for Taiwan Plus.

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