Forecasts of low visitor turnout at peak holiday time come as province reports arrivals down 30 percent in first quarter due to temple dispute.
Photo by: AFP
Tourists visit Preah Vihear temple in this file photo taken last year. PREAH Vihear province's tourism sector has been hit hard by a long-simmering dispute with Thailand over ownership of land surrounding an ancient cliff-top temple and the local tourism authority is bracing itself for a quiet New Year after fighting broke out again earlier this month.
"This New Year, there are likely to be fewer tourists to Preah Vihear temple than last New Year due to fears of artillery fire from Thailand but, in fact, security in the province is strong and stable," Preah Vihear provincial tourism chief Kong Vibol said Monday.
Ownership of land around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple near the Thai border has long been in dispute, despite the World Court awarding the temple to Cambodia in 1962. Tensions flared last July when UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have the Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage site, leading to several outbreaks of fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops over the last nine months.
The latest flare-up was on April 3 when Cambodian and Thai troops traded fire with guns, rockets and artillery. Each side blamed the other for reigniting the conflict.
Kong Vibol said the ongoing dispute had resulted in a 30.1 percent year-on-year decline in tourist arrivals in the first quarter of the year from 23,898 to 16,700. "The main drop was at Preah Vihear temple due to the border conflict," he said.
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