New entry fee for Cambodia's Angkor temples

In 2016, 2.2 million people of the five million tourists travelling to Cambodia visited Angkor temples. Photo / Supplied

Cambodia authorities have begun to enforce new entry tariffs for the first time in 25 years for the Angkor temples, which are on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Angkor Enterprise, the government body that manages the entrance to the temple complex, raised the fee of a one-day ticket by 85 per cent, from $US20 ($27) to $US37 ($50).

A three-day pass will now cost $US62, up from $US40, and a weekly one $US72, up from $US60.

The organisation announced the new fees in August, with $US2 allocated from each ticket to the Kantha Bopha Children Hospitals Foundation.

The site, located in the northwestern town of Siem Reap, is Cambodia's main tourist attraction and is the biggest archeological complex in Southeast Asia, with temples constructed between 9th and 14th centuries.

Long Kosal, deputy director of the Apsara Authority, in charge of temples conservation, defended the decision to increase the entry fees.

"The measure is a well-thought plan where the tourists and the partners involved have been consulted," Kosal told EFE.

However, several tour companies had urged the government to reduce the raised price, considering it to be too drastic.

In 2016, 2.2 million people of the five million tourists travelling to Cambodia visited Angkor temples, resulting in ticket-sales worth more than $US62.5 million, according to Angkor Enterprise.

- AAP