Rising airfare and fraud concerns slash tourist numbers at Cambodia's Angkor site
Visitor traffic to the Angkor temple complex fell sharply in the first half of the year as higher flight costs and reports of scams discouraged travelers.
Tourism to Cambodia's Siem Reap province, home to the UNESCO-listed Angkor ruins, has slumped dramatically, with provincial officials recording roughly 388,000 visitors from January to June, down 32 percent year-on-year. Declines are evident across major source markets such as the United States, Britain, France, China and Japan, the latter seeing a 33 percent drop. The recently built Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport, intended to boost long-haul connectivity, now operates just over a dozen international round-trip flights daily, mainly to neighboring Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, leaving it underutilised.
Local hotspots like Pub Street appear empty, and hotel managers have trimmed staff and suspended amenities, while veteran guides report barely any work. Fraud scandals, highlighted by a South Korean student’s fatal encounter with a criminal syndicate, prompted a travel ban that, despite later easing, has not restored visitor confidence. The government responded with a temporary visa waiver for Chinese tourists, hoping to revive the sector ahead of the peak autumn-winter season.
Why it matters
The downturn threatens livelihoods in a region heavily dependent on tourism and signals broader challenges for Cambodia's post-pandemic recovery.
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