After the coronavirus pandemic and visiting Thailand, Cambodia shocked a domestic traveler. In the once popular city of Siem Reap, a tourist walked around numerous “ghost hotels” and spoke about what he saw in his blog on Yandex.Zen.
Siem Reap, located near the border with Thailand, interested a compatriot with his condition after several years of stagnation in mass tourism. The consequences were obvious, he assured: “A huge number of large and abandoned hotels that were left unclaimed during the pandemic. Cambodia has lost 70% of foreign tourists. Also, according to official data, more than 2956 organizations of the tourism sector are currently closed, due to which 45.4 thousand people have lost their jobs.
The devastation is noticeable if you go beyond the central area: empty hotels, abandoned houses and shops. “In some places it resembles an apocalypse zone, and here a huge number of signs for renting real estate come to the fore,” he said. In the very center, tourist life is in full swing: restaurants, cafes, shops are open during the day, and bars and entertainment venues are open at night.
The traveler expressed hope that the resumption of the tourist flow in 2023 will have a positive impact on the recovery of tourism in this country. Cambodia has a good chance for this: the country took 4th place in the ranking of the best places to travel in 2023 according to the Travelers' Choice Awards, ahead of popular Thailand by one line. 2nd place – Vietnam, 3rd – the island of Mauritius. Cuba became the leader.
Recall that currently Cambodia accepts Russian tourists without covid restrictions, i.e. as it was before the coronavirus pandemic. However, there are no direct flights, but you can fly with transfers, for example, in Singapore, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Qatar. Tourists will need a completed migration card and an electronic tourist visa. You can apply for a visa right at the border.
Reference: Siem Reap is a resort town located in the northwest of Cambodia. For tourists, it is interesting primarily as a cultural and historical place, and not a beach one – there is no sea in the country. From the city, travelers go to the ruins in the Angkor region, the center of the Khmer Empire (IX-XV centuries) – this is a vast complex of stone buildings, one of which is the UNESCO-protected temple of Angkor Wat, depicted on the national flag of Cambodia.
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