PHNOM PENH (Xinhua/ANN): About 385 hotels and guesthouses, or 78 per cent of the hotels and guesthouses in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, have been either suspended or closed due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, a provincial tourism chief said on Tuesday (June 2).
Speaking during a press conference in Phnom Penh, Ngov Seng Kak, director of the Siem Reap provincial tourism department, said that prior to the pandemic, the province had a total of 230 hotels and 261 guesthouses, employing nearly 80,000 people and indirectly benefiting more than 300,000 people.
"Due to the impact of Covid-19, 172 hotels have been suspended and 18 others permanently closed. At the same time, 99 guesthouses have also been suspended and 96 others closed," he said.
"Our tourism is severely hit by the pandemic."
To relieve the burden of affected workers, he said the government has decided to provide US$70-a-month for each worker.
Siem Reap is the home of the Angkor Archaeological Park, a world heritage site and the country's most popular tourist destination.
The park received 386,093 foreign tourists during the first five months of 2020, down 65 percent over the same period last year, said a state-owned Angkor Enterprise's press release on Monday.
It earned gross revenue of US$18.02mil from ticket sales during the January-May period this year, also down 64 per cent over the same period last year, the release said.
In May alone, the park attracted 1,776 foreigners earning US$72,037 from ticket sales, down 98.7 per cent and 98.8 per cent, respectively compared to the same month last year, it added.
The significant drop in foreign tourists to the park was due to the Covid-19 pandemic that forced the country to impose entry restrictions for all foreign travellers since late March to curb the virus spread. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
Speaking during a press conference in Phnom Penh, Ngov Seng Kak, director of the Siem Reap provincial tourism department, said that prior to the pandemic, the province had a total of 230 hotels and 261 guesthouses, employing nearly 80,000 people and indirectly benefiting more than 300,000 people.
"Due to the impact of Covid-19, 172 hotels have been suspended and 18 others permanently closed. At the same time, 99 guesthouses have also been suspended and 96 others closed," he said.
"Our tourism is severely hit by the pandemic."
To relieve the burden of affected workers, he said the government has decided to provide US$70-a-month for each worker.
Siem Reap is the home of the Angkor Archaeological Park, a world heritage site and the country's most popular tourist destination.
The park received 386,093 foreign tourists during the first five months of 2020, down 65 percent over the same period last year, said a state-owned Angkor Enterprise's press release on Monday.
It earned gross revenue of US$18.02mil from ticket sales during the January-May period this year, also down 64 per cent over the same period last year, the release said.
In May alone, the park attracted 1,776 foreigners earning US$72,037 from ticket sales, down 98.7 per cent and 98.8 per cent, respectively compared to the same month last year, it added.
The significant drop in foreign tourists to the park was due to the Covid-19 pandemic that forced the country to impose entry restrictions for all foreign travellers since late March to curb the virus spread. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
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