Tourist number increases, but revenue from Angkor Wat visit ticket sales drops, what gives?

Sok Kong

Revenue from ticket sales for Angkor Wat temple complex lower than 2007 – Tourist sector upheaval

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Koh Santepheap newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Siem Reap – Officials from the Apsara authority indicated that revenue from the 2008 sale of tickets to visit the Angkor temple complex amounts to $30 to $31 million, i.e. a small drop from 2007.

Bun Narith, deputy director of the Apsara authority, told Koh Santepheap over the phone, on 13 January: “We are not publishing the actual ticket sale revenue number yet, we are only providing an approximate number which amounts to $30 to $31 million, there is a slight drop as compared to 2007 where the revenue was $32 million.”

Bun Narith indicated that the official number will be announced only after the ministries of Tourist and Economy agree with each other. The ministry of Tourist tallies the number of Khmer and foreign visitors, the Apsara authority tallies the number of visitors who bought tickets to visit Angkor Wat only, some of the (foreign) visitors did not even pay for their tickets because they were guests of the government.”

It should be noted that the ticket sales right was granted to the Sokha Hotel Company, owned by Oknha Sok Kong [a close friend and crony of Hun Sen], through a government concession contract concluded on 17 June 2005 by the ministry of Economy and Finance, the CDC and the Apsara authority.

Bun Narith indicated that foreign visitors must either buy a $20 ticket for a one-day visit, a $40 ticket for a 3-day visit, or a $60 ticket for a one-week visit. Following the subtraction of the sales tax, revenue from the ticket sales is divided between Sok Kong’s Sokha Hotel Co. and the Apsara authority as follows: the first $3 million revenue is shared 50%-50% between Sokha Hotel and the Apsara authority. For the remainder of the revenue, 15% goes to a development chest for the Angkor area, 68% goes to the Apsara authority, and 17% is kept by Sokha Hotel Co. The Apsara authority portion of the revenue goes directly to the state coffer.

The ministry of Tourist and the ministry of Economy and Finance, which is in charge of expert review on the ticket sales revenue, did not provide any comment or official statement yet. Nevertheless, Thong Khon, the minister of Tourist, recently stated that the total number of tourists visiting Cambodia in 2008 increase by 5.48%, this is translated into 2.12 million tourists, i.e. there is no drop in the number of tourists, even though the percentage of tourist increase is lower than expected.

The tourism sector is one of among the three top priority sectors for the development of Cambodia: the garment sector, the construction sector and the tourism sector.

Furthermore, Sdeung Sokhon, the under-secretary of state of the ministry of Tourist, used to say that revenue from the tourist sector is continually growing because in 2007, the number of tourists rose to 2 million. Studies indicated that, in the average, tourists visiting Cambodia spend $700, excluding the price of their airfare, therefore the average spending for the 2 million visitors to Cambodia would amount to more than $1.4 billion. Tourist revenues are distributed to visa revenue, hotel taxes, food, souvenir items and other miscellaneous items, as well as cost of purchase of tickets for visiting Angkor temples. Some of the tourist revenue benefits directly the population. Sdeung Sokhom made this statement during an interview on RFA. He added also that, based on his personal estimate, tourist revenue benefit private individuals more than the state.

However, economic observers said that out of all the tourist revenue, 30% flows right back out to import products from overseas, such as produce, meats, etc… Observers added also that a number of restaurant and hotel owners refuse to buy local produce, claiming that local produce is of lower quality.