International and domestic tourists explore the grounds of the Kingdom’s world-famous Angkor Wat Temple, in Siem Reap province. Post Staff
Over 770,000 foreign visitors bought tickets to visit the Angkor Archaeological Park in the first 10 months of 2024, allowing Angkor Enterprise to collect nearly $36 million in revenue, an increase of nearly 30 percent compared to the same period in 2023, reported the enterprise.
Data from the Ministry of Tourism shows that in the first nine months of the year, Cambodia received a total of 4.8 million foreign visitors, an increase of 22.2 percent over the 2023 January-September figures.
Some industry insiders have pointed to the disparity of Angkor ticket sales versus total arrivals as an indicator that many international guests are not traditional tourists, and may only be visiting the border provinces overland, possibly to visit casinos.
In 2019, when Cambodia received a record high of over 6.6 million foreign visitors, Angkor Enterprise’s revenue exceeded $80.7 million.
Angkor Enterprise, a public administrative institution, was established in 2016. Operating under the technical supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and financial oversight of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, it manages revenues from the Angkor park, Koh Ker Temple and boat rides at Chong Kneas Port.
According to a November 1 press release from Angkor, from January to October, 774,203 foreign visitors purchased tickets to visit the Angkor sites, an increase of 28.48 percent compared to the same period in 2023. The revenue collected reached $35.99 million, a growth of 29.07 percent.
Ticket prices for the park are divided into three categories: $37 for a one-day pass, $62 for a three-day pass and $72 for a seven-day pass.
The release added that the enterprise also earned $228,675 from 15,245 foreign visitors who bought tickets to visit the Koh Ker Temple complex, and $608,216 from boat ticket sales at Chong Kneas Port in Siem Reap province.
In an interview with The Post on the morning of November 1, Khiev Thy, president of the Angkor Tourist Guide Association, accepted that the number of foreign tourists visiting Siem Reap province has increased compared to last year.
However, he noted that the growth rate is not very high, despite the “high season” starting about a month ago. Generally, the period from early October to March is considered the peak travel season for foreign tourists, particularly from Europe and North America.
“Although the number of foreign tourists entering Cambodia is high, the number specifically visiting Siem Reap is not. This may be due to the global economic situation not yet fully recovering to pre-2020 levels, and the fact that there are still fewer direct flights to Siem Reap when compared to the pre-Covid-19 period,” he added.
However, he acknowledged that in November, the influx of foreign tourists to Siem Reap increased, adding that if this trend continues through the end of the peak season, it will be very beneficial for tour guides and those earning directly or indirectly from the tourism sector.
“Currently, I am on a boat tour with guests in the Chong Kneas area. This November, I have bookings for 25 days, and some tour guides are booked for all 30 days. However, for the upcoming December, I have only received bookings for just over 10 days so far,” he added.
President of the Cambodia-China Tourist Guides Association (Siem Reap Province), An Heng Sokpheak, agreed that a reduction in direct international flights to Siem Reap, compared to the pre-pandemic period, along with a still-recovering global economy, geopolitical tensions and conflict in certain countries, has impacted the international tourism sector, which has not yet returned to its pre-2020 level.
He noted that the number of foreign visitors to Cambodia has also failed to rebound to pre-Covid-19 figures.
“The number of foreign tourists to Cambodia has increased compared to three years ago. We expect this growth to continue positively and more strongly from the end of 2024 onward. Most of the foreign tourists visiting the temples in Siem Reap come from the US, Europe, and the Asian region,” he added.
In 2023, a total of 798,069 foreign tourists purchased tickets to visit the Angkor park, a 177.63 percent increase compared to 2022. The revenue from ticket sales amounted to a total of $37,198,988, marking a 222.68 percent rise.
In addition to this income, Angkor Enterprise also earned $222,090 from 14,806 visitors to Koh Ker Temple area and $564,671 from boat ticket sales at Chong Kneas Port.
