Angkor’s Angst: Siem Reap Seeks Tourism Resurgence

via Khmer Times, 04 January 2024: Siem Reap’s tourism sector is still battered by the pandemic and is hopeful for a turnaround with the launch of a new airport designed to accommodate millions of visitors. Despite a 177% increase in visitors in 2023, numbers are still far below the pre-pandemic era’s annual 2 million, with the industry recalling times when such numbers were considered overtourism. The city has faced fluctuating media perspectives on its growth and development, impacting its international reputation and economic stability through the years.

In 2023, Angkor visitor numbers hitting a 177% increase brought no solace because that percentage was simply a bump-up from virtually stuff-all in the previous two years, when the visitor numbers for the entirety of 2022 was a mere 287,454 and when the month of September 2021 suffered the ignominy of only 228 visitors.

Visitor numbers for 2023 was 798,069 and this was regarded by the industry as a sad shortfall when compared to the 2 million-plus annual visitor numbers that ran for almost a decade from 2010 with a high of just under 2.6 million in 2018, generating ticket revenue of $116.64 million and 2.2 million visitors generating $99 million in 2019.

Source: Desperately seeking tourists in Siem Reap – Khmer Times