Preah Vihear and Koh Ker archaeological sites in Preah Vihear province welcomed in total 198,430 tourists in 2023, the National Authority for Preah Vihear said yesterday.

During the twelve months of 2023, it pointed out, Preah Vihear resort recorded 92,966 tourists, down 16.7 percent compared to 2022, of them 83,723 were national tourists, a decrease of some 22 percent, and 9,243 others were foreign visitors, up nearly 126 percent.

At the same time, 105,464 tourists, including 90,658 Cambodians, up 63.2 percent, and 14,806 foreigners, up 145.5 percent, visited Koh Ker resort, a year-on-year increase of 71.2 percent, the same source added.

Koh Ker or ChokGargyar, as it is known in Old Khmer inscriptions, is a 10th-century temple complex and former capital of the Khmer Empire.

The 11th-century Preah Vihear Temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800-metre-long axis and dates back to the first half of the 11th century.

The two ancient temples were inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List on July 7, 2008 and Sept. 17, 2023, respectively.AKP