Cambodia's Angkor Wat earns over $20 mn in Q1

[geovalin]

Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple, which was originally built as a Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu, earned $20.3 million in revenue from ticket sales to foreign tourists in the first quarter of 2016.

The revenue was up 2.5 percent compared to the same period in 2015, Xinhua cited an official statement as saying on Friday.

The ancient site received 701,358 foreigners during the January-March period this year, up 1.8 percent compared to the same period in 2015, said the statement from the state-owned Angkor Enterprise, which is in charge of ticket sales at the park.

Angkor Wat Temple, inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1992, is the kingdom's most popular tourist destination.

An entrance fee to the site is $20 per day for a foreigner, $40 for a three-day visit and $60 for a week-long visit.

Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu temple but it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist shrine in the 12th century. The Archaeological Society of India has contributed to its upkeep.

source http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/cambodia-s-angkor-wat-earns-over-20-mn-in-q1-116040100723_1.html

[Chicog]

And that is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the revenue earned by Siem Reap businesses, especially the hotels.

Good news for Cambodia.

And apparently there are probably other fantastic archaeological sites still to be uncovered (and de-mined).

[Merylhighground]

I suppose it is very good news for the Cambodian tourism authorities and the local economy which again makes me want to stress to people to visit NOW before it is utterly over run by rampaging hordes of Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists. It is getting close now but one can still find a quiet corner here and there.

It's getting close already. another year or two and the average person looking for an aimless wander around the ambience of the park will just be swamped by the masses.

I recall my first visit with UNTAC workers in mid-late 1992 when we were literally the only people in the entire complex then a visit later in 99 when the land border had just opened and it was a similar story, then slowly over the next decade visitor numbers grew as did Siem Riep accordingly. The plus side is that the local economy is booming the down side is that there is little infrastructure in the park itself to handle such numbers.

I'll never forget that first visit, sitting up on Phnom Bakheng talking to an elderly Cambodian woman who had lived in the complex all her life how the KR had swept into the area and she and her family had hidden in the jungle and ruins using their local knowledge to avoid capture until their luck run out.

As she told her tale of horror and darkness all was utterly silent. Angkor Wat stood away to the right, a majestic and silent witness to Cambodia's bloody history. The sky darkened to the East and the rumble of a coming storm punctuated and gave atmosphere to her narrative as it swept slowly towards us. All else was silent apart from the gentle sing-song voice of the old lady the rustle of the wind through the trees and the odd rumble of thunder from the coming storm. That evening a small buffet and a few drinks had been laid on outside Angkor Wat for our group. There were maybe 15 of us all in all and enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the moment everyone drifted away into a small space of their own, drifting back to the table to grab another beer every now and again.

The last time I sat in that same spot on Phonm Bakheng I could hardly hear myself think as masses of tourists jostled for the best positions to photo Angkor Wat or Bayon below at top volume, planes roaring into or out of the airport at a regular rate, the constant din of tour buses below delivering their destructive locust like cargoes to devour the peace which was once such a feature of the place.......

One hopes the Cambodian authorities invest some of these vast sums to protect not only the monuments themselves but also to protect and preserve the incredible ambiance and atmosphere of one of the most amazing places on thie planet.

[Coyoti]

My wife and I last visited Angkor Wat in 2011. There were quite a few tourists, but I wouldn’t call it “hordes” at that time. We were still able to get a picture of us at sunrise over Angkor Wat with no other people in the shot and to wander around the various sites in what was never more than small groups. Sad to hear that may be changing. One thing I hope hasn’t changed is how clean the area around Siem Reap seemed compared to most of the rest of Cambodia. We were also impressed with how friendly most of the people we met were, although that may in part have been due to my wife being able to speak Cambodian? I suspect that the number of kids who swarm you at the few commercial sites inside the park has also increased with the number of tourists.