Panelists exchanged comments, which were kept anonymous to maintain survey neutrality during the rating process. These lightly edited excerpts offer a glimpse of panelists' varied points of view and the reasoning behind each score. They are not the views of the National Geographic Society.
"The main problem in Angkor will be coping with the weight of numbers, particularly when it is the greatest single tourism asset in a very poor country. There will be enormous pressure to exploit it to the max. The gateway town of Siem Reap has been developing rapidly in an unconstrained, unplanned way. Economic benefits to the local community may be minimal."
"State of conservation and aesthetic appeal are high, and continuing to improve. There are serious future issues with the radical subsidence of the water table, which will threaten the stability of the monuments themselves. The single-minded pursuit of high-volume tourism (which has caused the subsidence of the water table through pumping) has also destroyed the social integrity of the town of Siem Reap, which is now overrun with karaoke bars and sex tourism venues."
"The main Angkor temple area is heavily impacted, and vandalism both modern and ancient is obvious. At the same time the aesthetics are intact and the site impressive. Guides interviewed were knowledgeable and motivated. Smaller temple complexes were less impacted."
"No attempt is being made to relate the availability of hotel beds to the carrying capacity of the site."
"Serious environmental and social problems with hotel development outside the protected area. Potentially catastrophic: no sewage treatment, water being unsustainably drawn from local aquifers, money laundering through hotel industry."
"Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor is about to explode. Available water is consumed by the increasing number of tourists, leaving no potable water supply for the local folks. There is no sewage system to cater to the growing number of hotels."
"Overall a colossal missed opportunity to properly promote Khmer culture."
"Tourism here benefits corrupt officials and corporations, not local people. Tourism aimed at East Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) tourists is carpet-bagger tourism—they ride in Korean (for instance) buses, eat Korean food, have a Korean guide, and avoid any contact with local customs, foods, or people."
