Tourism for Development: Angkor and Surrounds

By Rebekah Mintzer

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A view of the temple Angkor Wat, the most famous structure in Angkor Archaeological Park. (Photo credit: Christian Haugen/Flickr Creative Commons).

14 June 2010 [MediaGlobal]: A region dotted with hundreds of ancient ruins, Angkor is an archeologist’s dream come true and a haven for international tourists. The most famous building in the Angkor Archaeological Park is the temple Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world. Tourists visiting Angkor have plenty to see in the area, and, by making intelligent travel decisions, can give back to local economies and communities.

A Brief History of Modern Angkor

In the later half of the 20th century, Southeast Asia was the site of tremendous sociopolitical upheaval. Internal power struggles, U.S. invasions and totalitarian regimes had a devastating effect on Cambodia’s people, environment, and economy, as well as its cultural artifacts. Invaders and illegal art traffickers had laid waste to many parts of Angkor in the chaos of these decades.

The history of Cambodia and Angkor reached an important turning point in 1992, when the warring factions of the country finally came to a disarmament agreement and established a temporary peacekeeping operation under the auspices of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). That same year, UNESCO declared Angkor a World Heritage Site, resulting in increased conservation efforts and protection from illegal art traffickers, enabling the area to open up to tourists.

Traveling in Angkor on and off the beaten path

Since disarmament, Cambodia and Angkor have become more and more popular with both domestic and international visitors. Only 118,183 tourists visited Cambodia in 1993. However, by 2009 this number had swelled to 2,161,577, according to the 2010 Cambodia Tourism Statistics Report. In its latest report on Cambodia, the World Travel and Tourism Council indicated that the industry now accounts directly and indirectly for some 18.4 percent of the country’s GDP, a statistic that would been difficult to conceive of just fifteen or twenty years ago.

Tourists in the Angkor area vary greatly. Some stay in ritzy resorts and enjoy fine dining in Siem Reap, the gateway city to Angkor, while others opt for more “hands-on” sustainable tourism experiences, volunteering at local schools, nature centers, medical clinics, and on local agricultural improvement projects. Community-based tourism (CBT) is another option for the sustainability-minded visitor. CBT ensures that the economic boost provided by tourism benefits local Cambodians and that natural resources are conserved, not wasted. Organizations like the Cambodia Community Based Ecotourism Network (CCBEN) also encourage interaction between visitors and everyday Cambodian people sometimes through homestays, an opportunity that many more traditional tourists miss.

Sites to See

The central attraction of the Angkor Archaeological Park is Angkor Wat, a building so valued by Cambodians that it adorns the country’s flag. The temple is surrounded by a moat and features bas-reliefs depicting scenes from Khmer history and Hindu lore. Another impressive structure, the Bayon temple is located in the center of the ancient town of Angkor Thom. Bayon is renowned for its large and intricately carved towers featuring sculptures of the faces of gods or kings. The Royal Palace at Angkor Thom is also quite memorable. Its terraces are adorned with reliefs that feature Hindu and Buddhist elements. Many visitors come to Angkor at either sunrise or sunset in order to take advantage of the beautiful natural light, which is striking against the ruins.

There is plenty to explore outside the archaeological park as well. Siem Reap attracts tourists for its hotels, dining, and markets. Siem Reap is the home of the Angkor National Museum, which showcases additional historical artifacts of Angkor. Exhibiting a darker part of the country’s history is the Cambodia Landmine Museum, which doubles as a home for children who have been injured by landmines planted during the tumultuous Cambodian conflicts throughout the later 20th century.

The Price of Tourism?

Engrossed by the beauty of Angkor’s elegant towers and its ancient sculptures and carvings, visitors to Angkor may forget that they are in one of the world’s least developed countries. In spite of recent progress, many people in Cambodia are still very poor, and though tourism contributes to the economy it often does not help those most in need. Yorth Bunny, Coordinator with CCBEN told MediaGlobal that locals living near Angkor Wat “do not get benefits or get little benefits from tourism while most of the profits end up with foreign hotel owners, tour operators, and the airlines.”

Too much tourism has also affected Cambodia’s infrastructure, including its water management system. “Clean water for Siem Reap people is very limited, Hin Sinat, Assistant to the Network Production Unit of CCBEN told MediaGlobal. “However, [a] huge amount of water in Siem Reap is, instead, used by modern hotels, restaurants and other entertainment buildings. In addition, there is no proper sewage in Siem Reap so the waste from hotels or other households are stored in Siem Reap Lake that it leads to water pollution.” There is also reportedly fear that if tourist numbers keep increasing, some of Angkor ‘s structures might literally sink into the ground due to overuse of underground water.

As is the case in most countries, tourism in Cambodia and specifically at Angkor Wat has advantages and disadvantages. By practicing sustainable tourism, visitors can hopefully leave the area better than they found it.