Visitors vanish from Asia’s most visited sites

via AFP/Channel NewsAsia, 09 March 2020: Another story about how Covid-19 has hit tourism across Asia, affecting tourism at archaeological sites like Angkor Wat.

As dawn breaks the unmistakable tapered towers of Angkor Wat emerge from the gloom – but for once there are no tourists jostling on its steps to capture Cambodia’s most famous sunrise.

Asia’s most Instagrammable sites – temples, promenades, shopping streets, museums and mausoleums – are empty, victims of a virus keeping visitors at home.

The usual crowds have evaporated from Sensoji temple in Tokyo to Shanghai’s Bund; abandoning the viewpoint at The Peak in Hong Kong and alleviating the pedestrian crush along Sydney Harbour.

Many of the now vanished visitors are from China – a country whose travellers have completely reshaped the tourist economies of Asia over the last few years, yet where only around 10 per cent of the population hold passports.

At the Angkor Wat complex, a 12th century marvel of Khmer architecture whose unique crenellations and reliefs lure millions each year, high season has brought the lowest number of tourists on record.

Chinese-speaking Cambodian guide Hor Sophea has not taken any tours since late January. Several weeks on, money is getting tight.

Source: Visitors vanish from Asia’s most visited sites – CNA