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Remarks by H.E. Dr. Sok An, at the Handover Ceremony of “Tourism Management Plan” under the “Angkor Heritage Management Framework” Project

Remarks
by
His Excellency Dr. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the APSARA Authority at the Handover Ceremony of “Tourism Management Plan” under the “Angkor Heritage Management Framework” Project
Phnom Penh, 25 March 2013


- Excellency Mrs. Penny Richards, Ambassador of Australia to the Kingdom of Cambodia,
- Excellency Dr. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism,
- Excellency Mrs. Anne Lemaistre, UNESCO Representative in Cambodia
- Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to participate in today’s handover ceremony of the “Tourism Management Plan” under the “Angkor Heritage Management Framework” Project.

On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Government and people of Australia for their generous assistance to the safeguarding and sustainable development of the Angkor World Heritage Site. My sincere appreciations also go to UNESCO for its effective coordination and continued support, and to other partners for their active involvements in this field.

Today’s ceremony signifies another significant achievement in the history of the Angkor site. Angkor was first inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992. In the following year, the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) was established. Since its inception, ICC-Angkor and APSARA, together with many countries and international organizations, have successfully cooperated in the safeguarding and development of the Angkor site, leading to the removal of the site from the World Heritage in Danger List in 2004. Since then, APSARA has significantly expanded its scope from initially focusing on saving the dilapidated monuments to addressing the socio-economic development issues induced by the fast-growing tourism industry in Siem Reap-Angkor.

With the rich cultural and natural attractions, the “open-skies” policy initiated by Samdech Prime Minister HUN SEN, and particularly the political stability, security and safety countrywide as well as improved supporting facilities and infrastructures, the number of international tourist arrivals has jumped to over 3.5 million in 2012 from around 118 thousand in 1993. Compared to 2011, this 2012 figure represents a double-digit increase of 28.2% for Siem Reap province and 24.4% for the entire nation. Thanks to such enabling factors, the number of international tourist arrivals will keep increasing, and we expect 4.5 million tourists by 2015.

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tourism is a double-edged sword unless well managed. Recognizing the risks, the Royal Government, together with our like-minded partners, has long pondered and adopted various measures, albeit as stopgap ones, in order to reap benefits from tourism while mitigating its negative effects on the monuments and local population in Siem Reap-Angkor. Indeed, the Tourism Management Plan, which was realized under a broader “Angkor Heritage Management Framework” project, with the important contributions from the Governments of Australia and Cambodia and with the effective coordination of UNESCO Office in Phnom Penh, is a well-integrated guideline for managing tourism at Angkor. The Tourism Management Plan – which is a product of close collaboration between Cambodian and international experts, with extensive consultations with the stakeholders including the local community, and was endorsed by ICC-Angkor during its last plenary session – reflects both the international standards and the specificities of Cambodia. It is chiefly aimed at facilitating management and coordination of the rapidly growing tourism at Angkor by improving visitors’ experiences, minimizing adverse impacts, creating partnerships with the tourism industry, providing benefits to local people and engaging all stakeholders. Looking beyond this plan, we consider this joint undertaking a good model in tri-lateral collaboration where Cambodia stands not only as a beneficiary, but also as a significant partner, as was mentioned earlier by the UNESCO Representative, Her Excellency Anne Lemaistre.

Having personally followed the various stages of the Heritage Management Framework project, I have well noted that, in addition to this Tourism Management Plan, a range of fundamental tools for the overall management of the Angkor Archeological Park including a Risk Map has also been elaborated. These tools would enable APSARA to effectively monitor the Park, its environment and social evolutions. Once completed and articulated with other projects currently implemented within APSARA, the Heritage Management Framework will provide us with sufficient elements to meet a request made by ICC-Angkor and the World Heritage Committee, namely the elaboration of a full-fledged Management Plan.

Moreover, as the Kingdom of Cambodia prepares itself to host the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee, the adoption of the Tourism Management Plan by the Royal Government is a testimony to the efforts we are undertaking to promote the principles of sustainable management and development at Angkor as well as in all World Heritage sites.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Australia through Her Excellency Ambassador Penny Richards for the invaluable contributions to the project. I also congratulate our specialist heritage consultants of Godden Mackay Logan for having closely collaborated with UNESCO and APSARA to successfully produce the Tourism Management Plan as well as the other tools that will be completed by the end of 2013. We will then have a fully integrated and practical Management Framework for Angkor.

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Producing a plan is important, but implementing it is even more important. Our next step is an efficient and effective implementation of the Tourism Management Plan and I will personally see to it.  In this regard, I would like to call upon you all and especially UNESCO, as the standing secretariat of the ICC-Angkor, to support the Royal Government by ensuring that the ICC Ad Hoc Experts for Sustainable Development will be available to advise and monitor the implementation. Together, we will be able to further guarantee the safeguarding and sustainable development of the World Heritage Site of Angkor.

To conclude, I once again wish to extend my profound appreciations to the Australian Government and UNESCO as well as other friendly countries and partners for their generous contributions to the safeguarding of the Angkor site, as well as to the socio-economic development of Cambodia at large.

Finally, I wish your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen good health, great success and happiness.
Thank you very much!

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