More than 100 hotels and guesthouses in Siem Reap province permanently ceased operations while 230 others announced indefinite suspensions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial hall revealed yesterday. In a press conference held at the Council of Ministers regarding tackling the growth and development of Siem Reap, provincial tourism department director Ngov Seng Kak said the coronavirus pandemic has severely affected the province’s tourism and lodging sector.

 

To date, 18 hotels and 96 guesthouses have permanently closed, 172 hotels and 99 guesthouses have temporarily halted operations with only 40 hotels and 66 guesthouses fully operational. “COVID-19’s impact on the province’s tourism industry has been drastic. The pandemic has led to a significant loss in revenue and has affected about 8,000 workers in the sector,” said Mr Seng Kak.

 

“There were only 1,776 tourists in May – a significant decrease of 98.77 percent – compared with figures from May last year which recorded more than 140,000 tourists,” he said. Provincial deputy governor Ly Samrith added a tourism inter-ministerial committee has been preparing a master plan for tourism development, which includes the transformation of the former capital to a smart city, improvement of road infrastructure, information dissemination regarding tourist destinations in the province and enhancement of tourism services.

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50729513/siem-reaps-tourism-hit-hard-by-c-19/

Sounds like it'd be a great time to go there and do another tour of all the temples.

Maybe get some pics that don't have 500 other people in them all trying to do the same thing at the same time.

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

Sounds like it'd be a great time to go there and do another tour of all the temples.

Maybe get some pics that don't have 500 other people in them all trying to do the same thing at the same time.

Absolutely, I live here in Siem Reap and have visited Bayon Temple and Angkor Wat - not a tourist in sight. Currently a "once in a lifetime" experience that will never be seen again (I hope). Cambodia's borders are closed so no tourists. Very sad for all the locals employed in tourism but peaceful for us ex-pats and stranded tourists.

Sad state of affairs. I'd like to visit once they let in tourists again.

 

Also they counted too much on the Chinese, now they pay the bill, as Thailand does.

Sad for the people, hopefully they lerned the lesson and will do better, once the paranoia has gone away.

Tourist numbers that can be believed at last.

Bad news, sad news, so many jobs, so many families depend on the tourists there. It hits the poorest the hardest.