Colliding Continents

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Angkor Why?

Angkor Wat has always been a top destination for many travelers in Southeast Asia. The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism has just announced that access to the largest religious structure on earth, will be restricted due to damage it has been sustaining, a result of a significant number of tourists visiting daily.

Controlling access to the Khmer ruins will undoubtedly include an increase in cost for tourists wanting to see them. This announcement will put more pressure on travelers wanting to see the ruins before further restrictions are imposed. At the moment, authorities have cordoned off the upper level because of fears that it would not be able to support the weight of people walking through the ancient hallways.

This brings up a similar issue for another famous site; Machu Picchu. As was mentioned in the blog post Thoughts on Ecotourism, the famous Inca ruins have received 700,000 in 2007. This growing number is causing the ruins to crumble. Price hikes can only deter a small amount of people from visiting, actual restrictions will do a better job of deterring visitors, as we will see in Angkor Wat.

Tourist demand to visit Angkor will increase significantly in the long run. Many travelers who find out about the newly announced restrictions, will be more pressured to visit the holy ruins as soon as possible before even more restrictions are imposed.

Is this the fate of the many historical sites around the world? Perhaps, but in the long run our grandchildren would still be able to see them, albeit from a distance.

Written at 6:41 PM by Sebastien.

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