Foreign Tourist Visits Drop 15%... Angkor Wat Faces Gloom

Aftermath of Trade War... Sharp Decline in Chinese Tourists

[Asia Economy Phnom Penh Correspondent An Gil-hyun] Last year, the number of foreign visitors to Angkor Wat, Cambodia's representative tourist destination, decreased by 15% compared to the previous year, causing alarm not only for the Cambodian government but also for the travel industry.

According to local Cambodian media on the 21st, the number of foreign tourists visiting Angkor Wat increased from 2.2 million in 2016 to 2.59 million in 2018, but dropped to 2.205 million last year. Accordingly, ticket sales revenue also fell by 15% compared to the previous year, amounting to $99 million.

The biggest cause of the decline in tourists was the decrease in Chinese visitors. The number dropped by 22%, from 1.12 million in 2018 to 870,000 last year. Additionally, the number of Koreans visiting Angkor Wat remained in the 240,000 range in 2016 and 2017 but sharply declined to 184,000 in 2018 and 135,000 last year. Local authorities and the Korean community analyzed that the reduction in the number of regular direct flights connecting Korea and Siem Reap had a significant impact.

The Cambodian authorities are on alert due to the decline in tourists. The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism analyzed that the US-China trade war had lightened the wallets of the Chinese middle class, affecting the tourism industry, and the Korean community in Siem Reap, which depends on income from Angkor Wat tourists, is also on high alert.

A local travel agency official evaluated, "Package tours are rampant, and the weather is hot, making the tourism conditions unfavorable." The Cambodian government has begun preparing measures to attract tourists. Top Sopheap, spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism, announced plans including ▲expansion of direct flights to Siem Reap ▲improvement of tourism infrastructure ▲development of new products such as agricultural tourism and areas in Siem Reap outside Angkor Wat. He also explained that Cambodia Travel Mart will be held along with the ASEAN Tourism Forum.