Siem Reap Province

Siem Reap exhibits tourism monoculture centered on a single asset—Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure, dominates the provincial economy to the exclusion of nearly all diversification. The UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park received 650,000 international tourists in the first eight months of 2024, a 31% increase over 2023, generating $32.5 million in ticket revenue (up 30.2%). Year-end projections approached 300,000 additional visitors. Yet these figures compare unfavorably to pre-pandemic 2019, when 2.2 million foreigners visited and ticket sales generated $99 million.

The Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign and government tax exemptions for tourism businesses aim to accelerate recovery. The new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport provides direct connectivity that draws tourists back to Cambodia's iconic temples. But the reliance on cultural heritage tourism creates structural vulnerability: the province's economy rises and falls with global travel patterns, pandemic restrictions, and competition from other heritage destinations.

Cambodia's tourism sector earned $3.63 billion in 2024 (up 17.8% from 2023), with Siem Reap capturing a disproportionate share. Yet insufficient diversification beyond Angkor Wat represents a recognized challenge. The temples themselves require ongoing conservation as visitor pressure, water table changes, and climate impacts threaten the sandstone structures. Siem Reap faces the paradox of heritage tourism: the asset that generates all economic activity degrades through its own success, requiring management of a resource that cannot be replaced or expanded.