Experts to meet on safeguarding Angkor site

The International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) will hold its 24th session on June 4 and 5 in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, a press statement from the UNESCO-Cambodia said Monday.

Mass tourism is wreaking havoc at Angkor Wat 
[Credit: Cambodiasky]

The ICC-Angkor has convened regularly twice a year to consistently follow up on all operations being carried out on the site, the statement said, adding that it is the international mechanism for coordinating all assistance extended by different countries and organizations for preserving and developing the site.

The session will be opened by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An and UNESCO Representative in Cambodia Anne Lemaistre.

The two-day session "will be devoted to a number of presentations by specialists, featuring themes on restoration, archaeological research, tourism and sustainable development," the statement said.

The ICC-Angkor was established after the Angkor Archeological Park was inscribed in the UNESCO's World Heritage list on December 14, 1992.

The ancient site is the country's most popular tourist destination, which is located in Siem Reap province, some 315 km northwest of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

According to the latest government figures, the site attracted 842,719 foreign tourists in the first four months of this year, earning 24.1 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales.

Source: Xinhua [June 02, 2015]