German group helps build tourism at Sambor Prei Kuk

Community tourism – that’s what the German Development Organisation has been helping residents at Sambor Prei Kuk to do, by building up and training a community-based tourism infrastructure. Hopefully, community-based archaeological ventures will follow as well. Check out a related post in this week’s Wednesday Rojak coming out later today.

Tourism, with a community twist
Phnom Penh Post, 24 October 2008

Residents of Sambor Prei Kuk are newcomers to the tourism industry, but with the help of the German Development Organisation (GTZ), they have become quick learners. The organisation has spent the last three years training community members in handicraft production, English-language skills, bookkeeping, marketing and business management.

Today, Sambor Prei Kuk – a village conveniently located halfway between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap along Route 6 – is poised to become one of Cambodia’s newest tourism hot spots, and one that will directly benefit the local community.

Sambor Prei Kuk is located on top of the ancient city of Isanapura, the 7th-century capital of Chenla. Despite years of looting and the ravages of war, important archaeological sites still dot the area.

Related Books:
– Pre-Ankorian Site of Sambor Prei Kuk, Prasat Sambor Complex, Kompong Thom, Cambodia Photographic Poster Print by Jane Sweeney, 9×12
– Pre-Ankorian Site of Sambor Prei Kuk, Prasat Trapeang Ropaeak Complex, Kompong Thom, Indochina Photographic Poster Print by Jane Sweeney, 40×30
– A History of Cambodia
– Angkor: Cambodia’s Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide)
– The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia: From 10,000 B.C. to the Fall of Angkor (Cambridge World Archaeology)
– An Introduction to Tourism and Anthropology