The politics of international guidance of heritage tourism: contrasting national and local interpretations and applications at Angkor World Heritage site

Abstract

With the growing popularity of heritage tourism throughout the world in recent years, international agencies have guided their member states to develop different forms of tourism, including cultural tourism, sustainable tourism, and local participation in heritage conservation and tourism development. This paper first reviews the concepts of cultural tourism, heritage, sustainable development, and sustainable tourism, upon which international guidance has been based and practiced. It then explores the interpretations and applications of international guidance by the Cambodian national authorities in the Angkor World Heritage site, and compares these to the responses and applications by local NGOs and social enterprises. Angkor World Heritage site demonstrates a highly controversial national interpretation and application of international guidance, which is complemented, but only somewhat, by the initiatives of local NGOs and social entrepreneurs.