Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Overtourism still threatens Angkor Wat

Overtourism still threatens Angkor Wat

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Throngs of visitors observe the sun rise over the central stupa of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. AFP

Overtourism still threatens Angkor Wat

Ticket sales to the Angkor temples are down. An Angkor Enterprise report has revealed that ticket sales to the Angkor Archaeological Park dropped by more than 11 per cent from the same period last year.

Prime Minister Hun Sen isn’t concerned. He told journalists that declining ticket sales at the complex wasn’t a problem – in fact, it indicates that Cambodia’s efforts to diversify tourism away from the Angkor complex have been successful, as more tourists are visiting other parts of Cambodia.

“We cannot look at just one tree – we have to look at the whole forest. We must focus on making Cambodia a more attractive destination,” he said.

Yet it bears taking a closer look at this particular tree.

Angkor Wat is no run-of-the-mill tourist destination. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site of immense cultural, religious and historic significance.

And despite the prime minister’s talk of diversification, it remains Cambodia’s most visited attraction.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, of the 3.3 million international tourists that visited Cambodia in the first six months of this year, more than one-third (1.2 million) visited Siem Reap province.

Even if more tourists are visiting Koh Rong or Mondulkiri provinces, a staggering number still visit Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.

Tourism has taken a heavy toll on the temple complex.

This year, Responsible Travel released a map documenting more than 90 destinations in 60 countries suffering from the strain of overtourism.

Angkor Wat is on that map, and for good reason.

Fewer tourists may have visited Angkor Wat this year than last, but overtourism still threatens its very foundations.

Warning bells have been sounding for years.

More than 10 years ago, the World Bank warned that temples such as Bayon were sinking into their foun-dations as nearby hotels drained underground reservoirs.

In her 2013 book Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism, journalist Elizabeth Becker called Cambodia “a model of tourism gone wrong”, arguing that “the splendid sacred spaces [of Angkor] are lost in a scrum of foreigners”.

Two years ago, the Apsara National Authority instituted a limit of 300 people at the top of Phnom Bakheng because the number of sunset-seekers threatened to damage the temple there.

While a good start, this came nowhere close to stemming the tide of overtourism that threatens the entire temple complex.

Temple steps are slippery because of the many tourists who have walked them. Bas-reliefs are worn down by the number of tourists who have touched them.

Siem Reap’s water shortages are close to causing irreparable damage too. During this year’s drought, Angkor Wat’s moat lost more than 10 million litres of water, the equivalent of four Olympic-sized swimming pools.

This water loss threatened the temple’s foundations and structural integrity.

‘Damaging effects’

Notably, this drought didn’t seem to affect Siem Reap’s hotels, which continue to draw heavily from the province’s water table.

Yet as Becker points out, the gov-ernment has not begun to measure how much water the hospitality industry sucks out of the ground, much less do anything to stop it.

Neighbouring countries serve as cautionary tales about the damaging effects of overtourism.

Last year, Thai authorities banned tourists from visiting Ko Phi Phi Leh after pollution, litter and sunscreen from thousands of day trippers caused immense environmental destruction to the island.

In the Philippines, the government set a limit on the number of tourists allowed to visit El Nido, Palawan, and banned tourists from Boracay for six months.

The Cambodian government should take note – if tourism sites are not well regulated and managed, overtourism can degrade them to a point where they cannot remain open to visitors.

So what should be done to protect Angkor Wat from meeting a similar fate to Ko Phi Phi Leh or Boracay?

First, the government should regulate the circulation of tourists, limiting the number of tourists allowed to visit Angkor Wat and the entire Angkor Archaeological Park at once.

Existing rules limiting the number of tourists permitted in certain sections of Angkor Wat or Phnom Bakheng do not go far enough.

Peru has introduced daily limits on the number of visitors allowed to visit Machu Picchu – Cambodia should consider similar restrictions.

Once the tourists have entered the park, more needs to be done to ensure they don’t cause damage to its temples.

Wooden stairs have been constructed at some temples – more such stairs would help to preserve the temple stones. Bas-reliefs should be protected from touch by glass.

Lastly, the government needs to better regulate the hospitality industry’s water use – and enforce these regulations.

Geoscientists and historians now believe that the city of Angkor Wat collapsed because of prolonged drought followed by intense monsoon rains, which damaged its infrastructure.

It would be tragic for Angkor Wat’s physical infrastructure to again collapse because of tourism’s demands on Siem Reap’s water table.

Cambodians are rightfully proud of the history and architecture of Angkor Wat and the other Angkor temples.

To protect this invaluable cultural heritage, the government must do more to regulate the flow of tourists and protect against overtourism.

Allison Jane Smith is a freelance writer and an editor at Future Forum, an independent Cambodian public policy think tank.

MOST VIEWED

  • Ream base allegations must end, urges official

    A senior government official urges an end to the allegations and suspicions surrounding the development of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, now that Prime Minister Hun Manet has addressed the issue on the floor of the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78). Jean-Francois Tain, a geopolitical

  • Ministry taking steps over Thai ‘replica’ of Angkor Wat

    The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has dispatched experts to inspect the ongoing construction of a temple in Wat Phu Man Fah, located in Thailand’s Buriram province. This temple appears to be a replica of Cambodia’s renowned Angkor Wat. The ministry said

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • PM to open new Siem Reap int’l airport December 1

    Prime Minister Hun Manet and Chinese leaders would jointly participate in the official opening of the new Chinese-invested Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport on December 1. The airport symbolises a new page in the history of Cambodian aviation, which will be able to welcome long-distance flights to

  • Minimum wage set at $204, after Sep 28 vote

    The minimum wage for factory workers in the garment, footwear and travel goods industries for 2024 has been decided at $204 per month, with the government contributing $2. Following several negotiation sessions, the tripartite talks reached an agreement during a September 28 vote, with 46 of 51 votes supporting the $202 figure.

  • Cambodian diaspora laud Manet’s UN Assembly visit

    Members of the Cambodian diaspora are rallying in support of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s forthcoming visit to the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) in the US’ New York City this week. Their move is an apparent response to a recent call by self-exiled former