The region's peak tourist summer season is at risk as elevated jet fuel costs coupled with ceasefire uncertainties prompt flight cancellations and higher ticket prices.
Tourism in Asia has yet to fully recover from the Covid pandemic. Now, many countries are coping with the war's repercussions for global energy supplies and prices, which hit Asia first and hardest.
Some families are pulling back on travel as visiting gas stations and grocery stores gets more expensive worldwide. Crowds have thinned at some places once synonymous with travel.
"With gasoline prices rising and tourism declining, how can we make money?" asked Siv Pech, a 58-year-old tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, home to Cambodia's centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex.
Tourism is an economic lifeline for many developing nations. It contributes nearly 13% of gross domestic product in Thailand and nearly 9% in Vietnam, and it underpins millions of jobs in Cambodia.
