International tourists may soon be able enjoy a leisurely bicycle ride, a run or cruise through the lush surrounds of the Angkor Archaeological Park on their motorcycles without having to purchase a ticket – provided they do not enter the temples themselves.

Ly Se, director-general of Angkor Enterprise, which manages ticket sales at the park, told The Post that the company is planning to ask for government permission to allow tourists to travel through the area without purchasing a ticket. At present, international tourists entering the Angkor Archaeological Park must purchase a ticket, which is then checked by agents when entering the temples.

Foreigners may not transit through the grounds of the park without a ticket, with those wanting to pass through having to take a detour.

“We intend to change the management strategy. We will request a new policy because we no longer want to require foreign visitors to purchase a ticket just to pass through. This policy has been in place for a long time, and we want to revise it,” he said, on August 28.

“We will only sell tickets for temple visits. If someone is just riding through without entering the temples, they won’t need to buy a ticket. We will cease checking tickets on the roads and will place them only at the temple entrances. We don't want to inconvenience tourists by making them stop unnecessarily,” he added.

Recently, Prime Minister Hun Manet asked relevant authorities to determine ways to simplify the process for purchasing tickets at Angkor, to make it easier for foreign guests. This included extensions to the visiting hours of various temples, which he has already approved.

On August 27, the Angkor Enterprise Board of Directors, led by Aun Pornmoniroth, Minister of Economy and Finance, amended ticket purchasing requirements, starting with one-day passes. Ticket vendors are no longer required to take photographs or record the gender, age group and nationality of customers to make visitor passes. 

Photo requirements for three-day and seven-day passes will remain in place until the end of 2024. 

The ticket checking stations at the four main entrances to the park will be removed, with tickets only inspected at the entrance to each temple.

Pornmoniroth also instructed the company to explore the idea of providing wristband tickets to simplify the checking process. He also encouraged them to promote the use of electronic payment methods, create self-service ticket machines and develop a mobile app-based ticketing system.

Ly Se noted that current three and seven-day ticket purchases require the input of nationality, age group, and gender of the ticket holder, even though this information is not displayed on the ticket. 

He explained that in fact, Angkor Enterprise does not need to collect this data, which is already recorded by immigration authorities at all international entry points.