AsiaLIFE

Last year, Siem Reap’s tourism business was the heart of Cambodia’s economic, this year most restaurateurs and hoteliers have contracted a severe headache. Nicky McGavin asks how bad is really bad, and can it get any worse?

The opening of a recent exhibition at the Arts Lounge at the Hotel de la Paix was host to a record crowd last May, including many of Siem Reap’s resident business owners. The works by a group of young Cambodian artists presented Khmer styles and traditions, but with a powerful modern twist. Appreciation for them was high but, as Alex Sutherland noted, “not many local restaurant owners will be buying this year, that’s for sure.”

Alex is owner of a number of Siem Reap’s food and beverage outlets, including the now legendary Angkor What? Bar. The enterprising 38-year-old Scot has lived in Siem Reap for six years and seen the town ride the ups and downs of SARS, the tourist explosion and now the economic crisis, compounded by political unrest in Thailand.

Holding Their Breath

As the slowdown tightens its grip, for Alex as for many, 2009 is going to be difficult. “This year until November is more or less a write-off,” he says. “We usually get a boost in July and August, but aside from that the outlook for the rest is pretty bleak.” This view is echoed, with varying degrees of resignation and anxiety, by traders all over town. The figures vary, down 30 percent say some, a whopping 50 percent, say others.

Sometimes the customarily heaving metropolis of Pub Street is busy, but mostly it’s not. Bars and restaurants previously seen engorged with sun-burned customers, now play host to a lonely looking few. Bored staff in empty bars and shops stare vacantly into space. Hastily written signs offering 35 percent off massages, 50 cent beers and two whatevers for the price of one indicate a certain panic in some responses to the situation. You start to wonder how long people can hold their breath? Three, maybe four minutes? According to Guinness, the current world record is a lung-busting 16 minutes and 13 seconds. Impressive for sure, but nothing compared to how long traders in Siem Reap are going to be holding theirs this year, as they hope for an upturn, a buck in the trend, any kind of relief in the air. All the same, no one really expects anything to happen until November, and even then they’re not sure whether it will be better or worse.

Perk Sophal, owner of the successful Khmer Kitchen, whose business is down 30 percent, is nervous about the future. “I need to worry about later,” she adds. “For a few months this is fine, but will it go even further down? That’s a problem”. For Siem Reap traders, the life-saving oxygen is the cash they already have, if they have it. It seems that the single item that will determine who will survive the crisis, is how much money they now have to see them through. Operating profits are a sweet memory.

Odious Comparisons

This does not bode well for restaurants like the newly re-opened Abacus. Much anticipated, highly praised, Abacus is a restaurant that should normally thrive and set the standards others aspire to. You’d never know that from talking to the two dispirited owners, Pascal Schmit and Renaud Fichet. They invested heavily in a re-location and re-design, which opened last December. Talking to them in the garden bar, you sense this year is going to be torture for them, as they do everything to save every riel, while struggling to support staff who have stayed loyal to them for five years. Determined to maintain an element of hope, Pascal stresses the need for some perspective. “You have to remember that last year was an extraordinary year for Siem Reap because Myanmar was closed,” he says. “To make comparisons is not always reasonable.”

He has a point. There are tourists around, and 22 percent down on last year’s bumper crop still leaves you with no mean figure. Not that everyone is suffering. Pub Street seems to be doing okay. Alex says that figures for the Angkor What? Bar are actually up on last year. Beer always sells, and cheap beer more so. Benoit Jancloes, general manager of the FCC Angkor, says there has been a change in spending habits. The complex’s spa has been the hardest hit as tourists enjoy Angkor Wat, but “cross out all the associated luxury services.” He adds that the nearby John McDermott Gallery has also been hard hit, as tourists seek out cheaper, less attractive, memories of their time here. Lan Theary, a manager at the McDermott Gallery confirms that sales are down, and that people are buying smaller pieces. It’s getting harder to sell the larger, more expensive fine-art works.

Bucking the Trend

Notwithstanding the gloom, there are some new faces in town. Sông, vendor of upscale clothing, a new gallery-café 4Faces, boutique hotel The Cockatoo, The Grill, and a new outlet for Khmer Kitchen are just some of the ventures defying the pessimists.The owners of these establishments maintain a hardy sanguinity. As Fabrizio Sartor, GM of Sông, points out, opening now can give you time to iron out any creases. Since Siem Reap is still a new and underdeveloped market, those traders who survive this year may be in a better position as they have learned to operate in a tougher environment. “I am an optimist”, he says, and you believe him.

The Hotel de la Paix confirmed that so far ten pieces from the exhibition have sold, a very positive result as some of them were very large and difficult to ship. As predicted by Alex though, all of them are going abroad.