Tourists return to Angkor Wat

As the sun comes up over the ancient site of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple, there's a sense of hope. Tourism may soon come back to this part of Southeast Asia. Covid-19 ruined Cambodia's tourism industry. When the country reopened to foreign visitors late in 2021, numbers had fallen to just 200,000 - from 6.6 million before the pandemic.

Those currently at the World Heritage site are fortunate to enjoy it free of huge crowds. However, Belgian tourist Marjan Colombie 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."

It's a special experience for Hanna, from Germany, on her first Cambodia visit.

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."

The negatives for Cambodia's economy have been enormous, but the site itself has benefitted. Important repair and maintenance work's been done to the temple buildings and gardens. And a water system's been put in to keep the grass green all year round.

20 percent of the hotels in the area are now taking reservations, and other businesses are gradually opening up. However, the tourist board expects a full recovery to take 12 months.

Meanwhile, Marjan can take advantage of the beauty of Angkor Wat in her own time.

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."

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