Foreign tourists now free to take pre-wedding pictures with their costumes at Cambodia’s Angkor

Phnom Penh: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Friday that foreign tourists are now allowed to take their pre-wedding pictures with their own traditional costumes for free-of-charge at the famed Angkor Archaeological Park.

The move aims at further promoting and attracting international tourists to the UNESCO-listed world heritage site in northwest Siem Reap province.

Hun Manet said foreign and domestic tourists are free to take pictures with Angkor’s background for their pre-weddings, YouTube channels, Facebook accounts, and TikTok accounts, among other social media for promotional purposes.

“Now, they needn’t ask for permission (from the APSARA National Authority) to take their pre-wedding pictures with their traditional costumes at the Angkor,” he said in a live broadcast speech during a dinner with more than 1,000 local tycoons in Phnom Penh.

“However, tourists must comply with the Angkor’s code of conduct: don’t wear revealing clothes, don’t take pornographic pictures, don’t violate our cultural values, and don’t take inappropriate photos,” he added, Xinhua news agency reported.

The prime minister said national and international media outlets are also allowed to take pictures at the ancient site for free-of-charge, but they must first ask for permission from the APSARA National Authority, with the specifications of their photoshoot purposes.

Hun Manet added that photoshoots for commercial purposes and movies, as well as photoshoots by drone, are still required to apply for permission and pay a certain fee to the APSARA National Authority.

The 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park is home to 91 ancient temples, which had been built from the ninth to the 13th centuries.

The park made almost 27.2 million US dollars in revenue from ticket sales during the January-July period this year, a year-on-year rise of 33.8 percent, it added.

–IANS