Bakheng tourism : setting new standards for Angkor

Standing at the bottom of Phnom Bakheng's eastern staircase—the main point of entry for visitors today—one cannot fail to notice the major erosion which is now occurring. Indicative of the threat facing the site as a whole, this staircase has been transformed in a few short years by one force in particular: tourism. And quite simply, tourism will continue to be the pivotal factor defining how successful efforts to preserve, protect, and restore will be in the future. In response, this brief paper suggests that a detailed understanding of the tourism industry must be at the heart of a heritage management and interpretation framework for the site. The following pages call for a more rigorous understanding of both the tourism industry and the nature of tourist consumption in the Angkor-Siem Reap region. We need to develop better accounts of the multiple ways in which the site is valued by visitors traveling from a variety of countries, including of course Cambodia itself. It is highly likely that the introduction of site interpretation will only further increase the number of daily visitors to the site. If we are to develop policies capable of alleviating this ongoing pressure, we also need to comprehend the economic, social, and institutional forces that shape current patterns and rhythms of consumption