Preah Vihear a pivotal heritage link

It could take another year before Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple finds its way into international tour itineraries combining heritage destinations in Thailand and Cambodia.
Commenting on the temple’s future in tourism on the sidelines of an ATF media briefing, Wednesday, Cambodia’s ministry of tourism chief of marketing ASEAN markets, Prak Vuthy, said the famed Khmer temple was open to domestic tourists and a “few locally arranged tour groups,” but it was too early to push it in international markets.
“Infrastructure needs improving and it is too early and sensitive at the moment to talk about its role in tourism linked to our neighbours,” he said.
The International Court in the Hague ruled late last year in favour of Cambodia’s claim to parts of the temple complex that had been challenged by Thailand.
The only assess to the temple is a road from Siem Reap to the base of a steep escarpment where the Cambodia military built a service road to the ridge on which the ancient temple stands.
Assess from the Thai side of the border has been closed for almost a decade due to the border dispute with Cambodia that prompted frequent military confrontations.
“We have domestic travellers visiting the temple and a few international tourists can book a trip with travel agents in Siem Reap, but that is all,” he said adding that it would take some time to improve services and create a tour that could be sold by international travel agents.
He did confirm that ideally the mountain temple could be part of a world heritage tour of Khmer ruins and world heritage sites across Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
“Historically it is linked to Angkor Wat and the ancient trail led to the Khmer temples in Phimai in Northeast Thailand… two-way tourism approval between the two countries would lead to travellers being able to travel the heritage route from either country in the future.”
Siem Reap’s Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear could also be linked to the Mekong River Dolphin trail in Northeast Cambodia crossing the border to Lao PDR’s Champasak province to visit the Khmer temple and World Heritage site at Vat Phou and then on to Pakse.
When pressed for an assessment on the likelihood of tours featuring Preah Vihear and other Khmer temple sites on a trail linking Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand he said: “Let’s see after 2015 when the AEC starts… a stable situation will encourage two-way tourism.”

Sourced: ttrweekly