Tourists return to Cambodia - 4th May 2022

The sun's rising on Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Hope's also rising that tourists will return soon. The pandemic destroyed tourism in the Southeast Asian country. Foreign tourists were allowed back in winter 2021, but just 200,000 tourists visited that year. The usual figure's about 6.6 million.

Now, the first tourists have had the chance to visit Angkor Wat without the crowds. Marjan Colombie, from Belgium, knows Cambodia needs more visitors.

Marjan Colombie: "Oh it's, it's a wonderful experience. It's, I know it's not good for Cambodia, I, I really, I wish all the tourists to come back because Cambodia really needs it. That's why as soon as we could, we came back also. But, but for us, it's a really nice experience."

Hanna's on her first visit. She's enjoying the extra space.

Hanna: "Yeah, it's a much more special moment because it's a very unique experience. So, it's not many people here and it's quite quiet. So, you can really enjoy yourself and take a breath and look at everything, and nobody's stressing out. There are no big groups around."

Low tourist numbers caused a huge financial problem for the whole country. But the pandemic has helped the tourist site in some ways. Workers have fixed damaged buildings and also improved its gardens.

Now local businesses are beginning to reopen. One in five of the hotels around Angkor Wat are taking bookings. But experts warn it might take a year to return to normal.

So for now, tourists like Marjan can enjoy their visit to the temple in peace.

Marjan Colombie: "I think it's a once in a lifetime experience to, to really see it with such few tourists. So, I am, I'm really, really happy to, to be able to experience it like, like this."