Trade, Tourism Revenue In Si Sa Ket Province Down 10% Due To Temple Row

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Trade, tourism revenue in Si Sa Ket province down 10% due to temple row

SI SA KET: -- Trade and tourism revenues in Thailand's Si Sa Ket province has plummeted 10 per cent following the ongoing dispute over an area which both Cambodia and Thailand claim, adjacent to an ancient temple atop a promontory at the poorly defined Thai-Cambodian border, a senior trade official said Saturday.

Sriwan Kiatsuranond, chairman of the Si Sa Ket Chamber of Commerce, said there were around one thousand tourist daily visiting Preah Vihear temple before the standoff, but the authorities on both sides of the disputed area have closed off access even before that happened, the official said, many tourists had canceled their trips for fear of their safety.

Some Bt4-5 million generated by tourists visiting the temple between January-May had dropped significantly, he said.

Because of the military standoff and tensions in the border area where the 11th century temple stands, tourists have now stopped visiting the temple as Thai and Cambodian soldiers sealed off the border, he said.

Souvenir traders also lost income, according to Mr. Sriwan.

The Si Sa Ket Chamber of Commerce has joined with banks and tourism operators in the province to submit a letter to the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee asking the group to resolve the border problem.

The provincial organizations hope that Monday's meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries will be able to resolve tensions along the border.

Both countries have insisted on exclusive sovereignty over the 4.6-square-kilometer area of the overlapping zone adjacent to Preah Vihear temple which was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 and listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO earlier this month.

-- TNA 2008-07-26