Visitors vanish from Asia's most visited sites

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


Visitors vanish from Asia's most visited sites
Guide Hor Sophea speaks during an interview at the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province on March 6, 2020. The deadly COVID-19 novel coronavirus epidemic will cost world tourism at least $22 billion owing to a drop in spending by Chinese tourists, the head of the World Travel and Tourism Council said on February 27. TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP.

by Suy Se



(AFP).- As dawn breaks the unmistakable tapered towers of Angkor Wat emerge from the gloom - but for once there are no tourists jostling on its steps to capture Cambodia's most famous sunrise.

Asia's most Instagrammable sites - temples, promenades, shopping streets, museums and mausoleums - are empty, victims of a virus keeping visitors at home.

The usual crowds have evaporated from Sensoji temple in Tokyo to Shanghai's Bund; abandoning the viewpoint at The Peak in Hong Kong and alleviating the pedestrian crush along Sydney Harbour.

Many of the now vanished visitors are from China - a country whose travellers have completely reshaped the tourist economies of Asia over the last few years, yet where only around 10 percent of the population hold passports.

At the Angkor Wat complex, a 12th century marvel of Khmer architecture whose unique crenellations and reliefs lure millions each year, high season has brought the lowest number of tourists on record.

Chinese-speaking Cambodian guide Hor Sophea has not taken any tours since late January. Several weeks on, money is getting tight.

"I've never seen so few tourists," said the 36-year, gesturing at the large moat inside the Angkor Wat complex, whose gangways normally bustle with selfie-taking hordes but are now empty.

"I am very worried... I don't know how much longer we can carry on like this."

The Angkor complex in Siem Reap province attracts the bulk of the kingdom's foreign tourists -- which hit a record 6.6 million in 2019, nearly half of whom were from China.

But the outbreak of the coronavirus has withered Chinese tourist arrivals by 90 percent.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced tax breaks for hotels and guesthouses in Siem Reap for four months to offset the losses.

But the discovery on Saturday of the first Cambodian with the infection - in Siem Reap - is likely to cement the stay-at-home mentality among many travellers.

The economic impact is also cascading across Asia.

In Bali, piers once bristling with arrivals from China are now decorated with moored boats, while in Tokyo the slump in mainland visitors - as well as South Koreans - is hammering restaurants in tourist areas.

At the Tsukiji fish market some restaurants say their take is nearly 70 percent down.

"People stopped coming from China during the Lunar New Year... the streets and shops around here are near-empty," Hiroshi Oya, 61, a cook at a Japanese seafood restaurant told AFP.

"Then South Koreans stopped coming too. The tuna shop next to us decided to close temporarily to avoid running costs," he added.

But for those who are inured to the panic gripping the globe and choose to navigate travel restrictions and the morass of quarantine, a rare privilege of empty sites is their reward.

At the Angkor complex, even Ta Prohm -- the 'Tomb Raider Temple' famed for its embrace by giant tree roots and a Hollywood film franchise -- has only a smattering of visitors each day.

"We're very very lucky. Covid-19 has probably done us a favour," Australian tourist Andres Medenis, who came for sunrise at Angkor Wat, told AFP.

"But the economy is going to be really affected by that... so I feel sorry for the local people."

© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

March 10, 2020

The Ashmolean opens first exhibition in the UK to examine Rembrandt's early years

French culture minister tests positive for coronavirus

Louvre restricts entry and Paris concerts cancelled because of coronavirus

Max von Sydow, star of 'The Seventh Seal' and 'Exorcist,' dies at 90

Julian Schnabel opens his first solo exhibition at Pace Gallery's new Chelsea home

Edmund de Waal's library of exiled writers goes on display at the British Museum

Visitors vanish from Asia's most visited sites

A chatty auction site is taking the classic car world by storm

US panel reinstates 'Stairway' ruling in favor of Led Zeppelin

Wayne Thiebaud's $3.3 million 'Civic Center' tops Sotheby's $32 million Contemporary Curated Sale in New York

Sales reported from the opening moments of TEFAF Maastricht 2020

KAWS, Shepard Fairey featured in March 24 Urban Art Sale at Heritage Auctions

Massimo De Carlo opens Tomoo Gokita's first solo exhibition in Milan

Film producer Mike Kaplan offering fans highlights from rare movie poster collection

Mart Crowley, 'Boys in the Band' playwright, dies at 84

Romania, Slovenia, Bulgaria limit public gatherings over virus fears

Mophradat announces consortium commissions 2020/22

American Folk Art Museum showcases some seventy stellar works from its collection

HRH Prince Charles' loan Aston Martin for sale with H&H Classics

Monumental, complex tableaus by Elias Sime come to Akron Art Museum

Group exhibition traces the resonance of Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry through artworks

The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal exhibits a new major acquisition by Cyprien Gaillard

VVA VirginiaVisualArts presents new monotype and relief works by Graham Fink

Understanding the Importance of Community Management

All About Topslots Canada

Amazing Facts About WireWallet

10 interesting facts about mosaic




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful