Coronavirus deals heavy blow to Cambodia's shaky tourism industry

Angkor Wat nearly deserted as travel restrictions disrupt key pillar of economy

Visitors wear masks as they visit Angkor Wat earlier this year. Cambodia's tourism industry has taken a severe hit from the coronavirus pandemic. © Getty Images

SHAUN TURTON and BOPHA PHORN, Contributing writers

June 2, 2020 13:34 JST

SIEM REAP -- Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tuk-tuk driver Long Kim Chhin ferried foreign tourists "every other day" to Cambodia's Angkorian temples, marveling each time at the grand stone structures erected by his forebears.

"I miss coming here," the 42-year-old told the Nikkei Asian Review as his motorbike-drawn carriage neared the Angkor Wat temple in May. "Before today, I haven't had a passenger in three months."