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Cambodians Revel in Now Tourist-Free Angkor Wat

Luke Hunt

   SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - The new coronavirus has left its mark on Angkor
   Wat, the world's top tourist attraction.

   Foreign visitors are rare, the elephants are being rehoused and local
   businesses have gone bankrupt, but for Cambodians it's a chance to
   reclaim their heritage.

   Authorities say the number of paying visitors have been measured by the
   dozens on any given day and all are among those who remained in the
   country after the coronavirus began crossing borders in late January,
   forcing lockdowns around the world and ending international travel.

   That compares with more than 2.2 million tourists who last year paid
   almost $100 million to get through the gates of the 12th century
   temple, which covers 208 hectares.

   "I find it very interesting without the tourists, because we usually
   have a lot of people out there and when we go there it's just like you
   are visitors, not the real people who own this country, but now it's
   very good," Sreynath Sarum, a hospitality worker from Phnom Penh, said.

   Cambodia's tourism industry had blossomed over the last 10 to 15 years
   with Angkor Wat, the ruins and surrounding temples in the country's
   north west consistently winning international awards, and the nearby
   town of Siem Reap was rebuilt into a tourist hub.

   Mass tourism also brought problems, though.

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