by

History of Siem Reap’s Tourism

From the Very Beginning

In the 13th century, Siem Reap was little more than an expanse of empty countryside but with the first Hindu and then Buddhist mega settlement, it began to boom with the building of hundreds of temples. Many years later, (as shared by Sacchin and Manish in their post of the History of Siem Reap) the École Française d’Extrême Orient (EFEO) began a long association with Angkor as the French became Cambodia’s colonial master in the 19th century. The EFEO funded an expedition into Siam to the Bayon and Siem Reap was still little more than a village when the first French explorers re-discovered Angkor in 1901.

With the acquisition of the Angkor by the French seven years later in 1907, the EFEO cleared and restored the whole site and in the same year, Angkor received its first wave of tourists- an unprecedented 200 people in three months. Siem Reap was the beneficiary of these early waves of tourism as it then began to be developed beyond the huts that previously made up the town. Infrastructure and buildings began to grow with the arrival of tourists, with many French colonial buildings that can still be seen till today. For instance, The Grand Hotel d’Angkor opened its doors in 1929 and with the temples of Angkor, Siem Reap attracted even celebrities like Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Kennedy.

Then, the Kingdom of Cambodia gained independence from its French protectorate and despite the French pulling out of the country in the 1950s, Siem Reap remained one of Asia’s leading tourism draw. In fact, Cambodia used to be one of the most famous tourist destinations with annual tourist arrivals from 50,000 to 70,000.

However in 1975, the communist Khmer Rouge took over the country and literally drove the entire population of Siem Reap (along with the rest of the population in other cities and towns in Cambodia) into the countryside. Meanwhile, Angkor lay dormant and there was not a single visitor that visited the site as Siem Reap remained off-limits to tourists.

Siem Reap was the scene of heavy fighting that remained sporadic for much of the next decade as the Vietnamese army entered Cambodia in 1979. Decades of civil war, insurgencies, isolation and particularly the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge, the tourism industry was almost totally destroyed.

Siem Reap and Cambodia Today

After conflict resolution in the early 1990s and with strong support from the international community, Cambodia returned to peace and socio-economic reconstruction. Cambodia began to stabilise and with a rejuvenated tourist industry, Siem Reap emerged from a long slumber became one of the biggest Cambodian beneficiaries, taking small but important steps to an important journey to recovery. Tourist arrivals have increased dramatically from 1993 to today, with an annual average increase of about 30 percent. Since, Siem Reap has emerged as the fastest growing city in Cambodia and remains a gateway to the famous heritage site of the Angkor temples.

With these attractions serving as its main draw, Siem Reap has managed to transform itself into one of Cambodia’s fastest growing city and into a major tourist hub. In fact, tourism has become one of the most important industries contributing to the overall economic recovery and development of Cambodia, with Tourism is one of the largest contributors to the Cambodian economy after the agriculture and textile industry and is the second largest income generator after the garment industry. For example, tourism generated tourism receipts of US$1.56 billion in 2009 with more than 2 million visitors.

Today, Siem Reap has emerged as a vibrant and exciting city with hotels and modern amenities, and it has pretty much continued to conserve much of its distinctive image, culture, traditions and architecture. In fact, besides its economic advantages, the Cambodian government views tourism as an effective tool to promote the cultural values and identity of Cambodia which had been lost given the excessive external interventions. An example of which is the Angkor temples. While the Angkor temples have always existed, the Khmers have always regarded it as a religious site and never thought of it as a symbol of national pride. Today, Angkor has become the symbol of nationalism and Cambodian identity, with a recent UNESCO/Trip Advisor survey declaring the Angkor as the most recommended World Heritage site.

Tourism Statistics For the Geeks!

If you want to find out more about their tourism statistics such as mode of arrivals, visitor arrivals by country of destination, top 10 arrival markets, average length of stay and hotel occupancy, etc, download Cambodia’s tourism statistics (2010)

View This Documentary on Angkor Wat!

Do spare some time to view this BBC documentary. It is an hour long but is such worthwhile investment in return for a solid education of Angkor Wat and its wonders. I didn’t even know that the water tributaries that lead to the Mekong River will actually reverse in direction for certain months of the year and back up into the Tonle Sap Lake. In fact, the video even shared how the ancient Khmers would even carve the images of gods into the river beds, including lingums (symbolic of the male phallus) to bless the waters.  Such a showcase of their mastery over their craft of stone carving as an act of devotion to their gods. Watch this YouTube documentary on Angkor Wat. After all, the Angkor Wat is so integral to Siem Reap’s tourism, so make sure you watch it!

References:

http://www.mot.gov.kh/index.php

http://www.siemreap-town.gov.kh/

http://www.cambodia-tourism.org/statistic/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siem_Reap

Chheang, V (2008). “The Political Economy of Tourism in Cambodia”. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol 13 No. 3

Chheang, V (2009). “State and Tourism Planning: A Case Study of Cambodia”. Journal of Tourism, Vol 4 No. 1

Chen, C.Y., Sok, P., Sok, K., (2008). “Evaluating the Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry in Cambodia: Self- assessment from Professionals”. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 13. No. 1

919 thoughts on “History of Siem Reap’s Tourism”

  1. Great website you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of any community forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article? I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get suggestions from other experienced individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Appreciate it! resume writer calgary

  3. I came to this site with the introduction of a friend around me and I was very impressed when I found your writing. I’ll come back often after bookmarking! keonhacai

  4. novaPDF Crack is a PDF creator that allows you to create high-quality PDF files from any Windows application. Besides, novapdf 8 activation key free can create PDF documents from any printable file. You can add bookmarks in generated PDF files and detect headings in printed documents. novapdf 8 product key helps you to create industry-standard PDF files. novapdf 8 product key

  5. The assignment submission period was over and I was nervous, totosite and I am very happy to see your post just in time and it was a great help. Thank you ! Leave your blog address below. Please visit me anytime.

  6. I have to express some thanks to you for bailing me out of this challenge. After scouting throughout the internet and coming across concepts which were not powerful, I was thinking my entire life was done. Living devoid of the answers to the issues you have sorted out as a result of your article content is a crucial case, as well as the kind that would have badly damaged my entire career if I hadn’t encountered your blog. Your primary knowledge and kindness in controlling almost everything was precious. I am not sure what I would have done if I had not encountered such a subject like this. I can at this point look forward to my future. Thanks for your time so much for your expert and result oriented help. I will not think twice to recommend your site to any individual who desires guidance about this subject. Hotel Minibar

  7. When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new surveys are added- checkbox now if a comment is added I buy four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is any way you may remove me from that service? Thanks! 해외 바카라 사이트

  8. بهترین راه های مهاجرت به کانادا با وکیل رسمی در موسسه مهاجرتی گنجی

  12. “I wish I could be shocked about the scale of this, but I’m absolutely not. I’m just depressed and frustrated,” says Helena Wood, head of the UK Economic Crime Programme at the Royal United Services Institute. 실시간 카지노

  13. These are brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg who were the subject of an investigation by a US Senate committee in 2020. It said they had exploited a global web of shell companies to evade US sanctions imposed following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. These companies were used to buy millions of dollars worth of art. 온라인카지노

  14. استفاده از کفپوش علاوه بر محافظت از ورزشکار از آسیب، مزیت های بسیار زیاد دیگری نیز دارد. به عنوان مثال انواع کفپوش که در باشگاه‌های مختلف استفاده می‌ شوند، نقش عایق صوتی و جلوگیری از انعکاس صدا را نیز دارند.

    خرید چمن مصنوعی

  16. The program also uses multi-part download technology to speed up the process. Unlike other similar tools on the Internet, the latest version of IDM Full Version Crack files is shared during the download process to identify different categories. This makes it easy to sort the list. In addition, to improve performance, existing server connections are reused without additional connection steps IDM Crack Download .

  17. Looking at this article, I miss the time when I didn’t wear a mask. totosite Hopefully this corona will end soon. My blog is a blog that mainly posts pictures of daily life before Corona and landscapes at that time. If you want to remember that time again, please visit us.

  18. The program also uses multi-part download technology to speed up the process. Unlike other similar tools on the Internet, the latest version of IDM Full Version Crack files is shared during the download process to identify different categories. This makes it easy to sort the list. In addition, to improve performance, existing server connections are reused without additional connection steps IDM Crack Download .

  21. امروزه باتوجه به آنکه اکثریت مردم در جهت رفع نیازهای خود در بستر اینترنت و موتور جستجوی گوگل جستجو می کنند، حضور در فضای دیجیتال ضروری است. بسیاری از کسب و کارهای سنتی که نمی خواهند در این بازار پر رقابت به فراموشی سپرده شوند در کنار بازاریابی سنتی به سمت بازاریابی دیجیتال از جمله سئو آورده اند.

    سئو در کرمان

  25. The program also uses multi-part download technology to speed up the process. Unlike other similar tools on the Internet, the latest version of IDM Full Version Crack files is shared during the download process to identify different categories. This makes it easy to sort the list. In addition, to improve performance, existing server connections are reused without additional connection steps IDM Crack .

  34. Assignment Global offers the best professional proofreading services that are delivered by qualified editors who specialize in proofreading and editing articles, books, and manuals. The editors are skilled at spotting errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation so that they can be corrected properly before publishing your work.

  40. It’s too bad to check your article late. I wonder what it would be if we met a little faster. I want to exchange a little more, but please visit my site bitcoincasino and leave a message!!

  43. As I am looking at your writing, majorsite I regret being unable to do outdoor activities due to Corona 19, and I miss my old daily life. If you also miss the daily life of those days, would you please visit my site once? My site is a site where I post about photos and daily life when I was free.

  46. First of all, thank you for your post. baccaratsite Your posts are neatly organized with the information I want, so there are plenty of resources to reference. I bookmark this site and will find your posts frequently in the future. Thanks again ^^

  50. 슬롯 HI THERE! THIS IS MY FIRST VISIT TO YOUR BLOG! WE ARE A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS AND STARTING A NEW PROJECT IN A COMMUNITY IN THE SAME NICHE. YOUR BLOG PROVIDED US USEFUL INFORMATION TO WORK ON. YOU HAVE DONE A EXTRAORDINARY JOB!!!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *