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Volume 13(5): 491–509
DOI: 10.1177/1367877910372707

Hidden sights
Tourism, representation and Lonely Planet
Cambodia

● Matthew Tegelberg
Trent University, Canada

ABSTRACT ● This article examines discourses of tourist location as

articulated in the influential and highly successful travel guide Lonely Planet
Cambodia. The aim is to direct attention to discourses and representations
in guidebooks and their influential role in emerging tourist markets such as
Cambodia by accomplishing two central tasks. First, an investigation of the
discursive context within which Cambodia has been framed for more than a
century reveals Lonely Planet Cambodia’s tendency to reproduce a problematic
colonial discourse. Discourse analysis of examples from the guide demonstrates
how this particular narrative continues to perpetuate a history of silencing local
perspectives. These observations lead to a second line of argumentation.
Despite Lonely Planet’s stated intention to promote a responsible and socially
conscious mode of tourism, this agenda is contradicted by discursive practices
that strategically avoid controversial issues. Instead, the guidebook relies on
common tourist themes that are primarily concerned with producing an image
of Cambodia that appeals to the Western traveller. ●

KEYWORDS ● Cambodia ● communication ● culture ● development

● discourse ● guidebooks ● Lonely Planet ● representation ● tourism

travel writing

Tourism is a leisure practice enjoyed by people from a heterogeneous array

of social and cultural backgrounds. For some, tourism is primarily about
having relaxing vacations, while others are motivated for different reasons.

491
492 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

Although there is a wealth of literature dedicated to examining the motiva-

tions, practices and experiences of tourists, Urry notes that making ‘sense of
“fun, pleasure and entertainment” has proved a difficult task’ (1990: 7).
This process is further complicated by increasing numbers of domestic and
non-Western tourists whose behaviour does not always correspond with
existing scholarly interpretations. In complex tourist networks, guidebooks
often perform the common function of mediating foreign destinations to
readers. Tourists consult these popular texts to obtain information that helps
them determine what places to visit while the texts simultaneously con-
tribute to social awareness of these locations. Because of their extensive use
among audiences from diverse backgrounds, it is important to examine how
effectively guidebooks perform this influential communicative function.
The social and cultural significance of the travel guide becomes evident
when one considers discourses of tourism within the context of the global
south. In Cambodia, for instance, growing numbers of tourists flock to
Siem Reap to catch a glimpse of the ancient Angkor temples. Designated as
a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992, the temples are a destination
known to satisfy diverse touristic motivations.1 The primary attraction is
Angkor Wat, an archaeological site situated among a global iconography of
ancient places – such as Tik’al in Guatemala or Machu Picchu in Peru –
with universal touristic appeal. On a visit to Cambodia, one encounters
numerous images of Angkor Wat; the most obvious perhaps being its pres-
ence on the national flag. The Lonely Planet guide describes the experience
that awaits tourists at Angkor as follows: ‘The years of fear and loathing
are over and Cambodia is now one of the in places to be.… The traveler’s
first glimpse of Angkor Wat, which represents the full flowering of Khmer
genius, is a mind-blowing experience, matched by only a few places on
earth’(Wheeler, 2004:357). What this statement and an increasing prolifer-
ation of images of Angkor share is a common neglect of the voices of
Khmer locals who live and work around the temples. Currently, the stories
of Cambodian people remain absent from a prevalence of Westernized
depictions of the nation’s most sought-after attractions.
With Cambodia’s emergence as a popular tourism destination, Lonely
Planet has enjoyed considerable success and authority in the region, pub-
lishing one of few travel guides targeted at growing numbers of visitors.
This study contributes to existing literature by examining discourses of
tourist location as articulated in the influential and highly successful travel
guide Lonely Planet Cambodia (hereafter referred to as LP Cambodia). The
aim is to direct attention toward discourses and representations in guide-
books and their influential role in emerging tourist markets such as
Cambodia by accomplishing two central tasks. First, an investigation of the
discursive context within which Cambodia has been framed for more than
a century reveals LP Cambodia’s tendency to reproduce a problematic colo-
nial discourse. Discourse analysis of examples from the guide demonstrates
how this particular narrative continues to perpetuate a history of silencing
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 493

local perspectives. These observations lead to a second line of argumenta-

tion. Despite Lonely Planet’s stated intention to promote a responsible and
socially conscious mode of tourism, this agenda is contradicted by discur-
sive practices that strategically avoid controversial issues. Instead, the
guidebook relies on common tourist themes that are primarily concerned
with producing an image of Cambodia that appeals to the Western traveller.

The impact and significance of Lonely Planet

Since its origin as an independently owned alternative to mainstream travel

guides, Lonely Planet Publications has evolved into a transnational corpo-
ration catering to low budget backpackers and first-class travellers alike.
Lonely Planet, as New Yorker columnist Tad Friend confirms:
now markets some six hundred and fifty titles … in a hundred and eighteen
countries. With annual sales of more than six million guidebooks – about a
quarter of the English language guidebooks sold – it is the world’s largest
publisher of travel guides. (2005: 2)
In addition, Lonely Planet has capitalized on successful cross-ownership
ventures in photography (Lonely Planet Images), television (Lonely Planet
TV) and the internet (Lonely Planet Online). The company also benefits
from cooperative undertakings with transnational corporations, evidenced
in the cross-promotion of products and services that occur in the guides and
on the web.
These commercial successes call for an investigation of the relationship
between Lonely Planet’s considerable stake in the global tourism arena,
media globalization and the concentration of ownership. Research in
political economy demonstrates how cultural forms act as mechanisms for
regulating public representation and discourse (Golding and Murdock,
2000: 85). This process occurs through the construction and maintenance
of structural barriers that make it possible to limit the representations avail-
able for public consumption. These observations inform analysis of LP
Cambodia due to the company’s power and far-reaching influence in the
tourism industry. Such conditions make it possible for Lonely Planet to
expose audiences to a limited range of perspectives without being subject to
questions about the validity of their content.
Studies of tourism have addressed the limits of tourist representation, the
tourist’s experience of place and relations between hosts and guests. There is a
rich literature that addresses these themes by building upon the foundational
work of Dean MacCannell (1976), John Urry (1990) and Valene Smith (1977).
However, with the exception of Deborah Bhattacharyya’s seminal work
(1997), little has been said about the specific role of guidebooks – such as LP
Cambodia – within tourist systems. Instead, existing work tends to ignore
guides or group them among other representational texts such as brochures,
494 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

travel posters, photographs and/or the internet. This is an unfortunate

oversight since tourists visiting foreign destinations, like Cambodia, often
rely upon guidebooks to act as primary sources of cultural mediation. As
Bhattacharyya observes: ‘The guidebook is a crucial part of the touristic
process, because it mediates the relationship between tourist and destina-
tion, as well as the relationship between host and guest’ (1997: 372).
Bhattacharyya (1997) points out problems that the hegemonic positioning
of Lonely Planet creates in her study of the role guidebooks play in the tourist
experience. LP India is selected for analysis because the guide is one of the
primary sources travellers depend upon to navigate and gain knowledge of
India. Analysis reveals constructed representations of India that are oriented
toward the Westernized discourses of its readers. The author also observes
Lonely Planet’s unwillingness to acknowledge its own ideological bias and
representational limits. As Bhattacharyya explains:
LP India is presented as the only India, as a straightforward, self-evident
description of reality rather than as a socially constructed representation.
The language of the book never acknowledges that it is molding and
presenting a certain image of India – one of many that could be presented
and one that is the product of a very specific process. (1997: 376)
The guidebook’s status as a promotional text is seen as a principal reason
for the omission of differing political-economic, religious, ritualistic and
mundane elements of Indian culture. Yet this silencing of alternative per-
spectives raises important questions about the epistemological implica-
tions of the wide dissemination and use of Lonely Planet guidebooks. In
the case of LP Cambodia, for instance, Bhattacharyya’s observation
compels us to question what extent the guidebook narrative tends to mir-
ror wider discourses of power, colonialism and exploitation. Moreover,
we must consider the potential for such narratives to covertly reinforce
economic, sociocultural and environmental tensions which continue to
harm the welfare of many Cambodian people.
In order to address these issues, the remainder of this article is divided into
three parts. It begins with a discussion of the broader historical context within
which Cambodia has been framed for more than a century. Because of the
wide range of scholarship on Cambodian history, culture and social life, dis-
cussion is centred on two key areas of thematic interest: late 19th- and early
20th-century French colonial narratives; and the post-conflict or modern era
(1990–present). Once this contextual background is established, focus shifts
to the discursive practices of LP Cambodia.2 The analysis is divided into two
groups of examples. The first focuses on ‘Getting Started’, ‘Itineraries’ and
‘Culture’ due to the appearance of recurring themes used to inform readers of
various Cambodian attractions. The second compares information provided
in ‘Temples of Angkor’ with concerns raised by the guidebook’s limited
emphasis on critical social issues that affect the lives of Khmer locals.
These particular areas of focus were selected due to the guidebook’s length
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 495

(335 pages) and the limited scope of this article; however, it should be noted
that the themes and corresponding concerns raised here are characteristic of
the guidebook in its entirety.3 The examples are representative of wider con-
cerns raised by the contradictory nature of Lonely Planet’s mandate to pro-
mote independent, culturally responsible travel (Wheeler, 1999) and the
unacknowledged impact of their actual practices.

Articulating colonial fantasies

Representations of the Angkor temples can be traced beyond Henri Mouhot

and their Western discovery. Khmer and non-Khmer groups have made pil-
grimages to the site since the Khmer empire’s downfall in the 15th century.
However, it was Mouhot’s 1860 ‘discovery’ that triggered a Western fasci-
nation with Angkor that continues to characterize contemporary discourses.
Penny Edwards (2007) traces the origin of these lasting depictions to the
French Protectorate period between 1863 and 1954. During this period, a
sense of Cambodian nationalism emerged, driven by a mythological identity
of an ‘authentic’ Khmer that French colonizers mapped onto Khmer subjects
and the Angkor temples. The iconography that developed in conjunction
with this burgeoning national identity was heavily influenced by French
artistic and literary tropes. An exotic and auratic vision of Angkor was con-
structed that celebrated elite histories of royal Khmer dynasties, art and
architecture, while displacing nuanced, popular modes of representation
(Norindr, 2006). Edwards argues that the French Protectorate’s control of
representations of Angkor in museums, exhibitions and monuments resulted
in ‘a fundamental shift in Cambodian perceptions of, and relationships to, the
temples’ (2007: 22). Yet the Protectorate’s impact on national consciousness
is consistently written out of history books or framed as an ‘inauthentic
abyss’ that conflicts with the continuity of pre- and postcolonial historic
trends (Edwards, 2007: 9).
Contributors to Expressions of Cambodia examine and critique the
enduring legacy of this colonial iconography. The editors suggest that in
Cambodia:
a series of values, beliefs and normative wisdoms have solidified to define
the parameters of what constitutes Cambodia and its culture as a field of
scholarly enquiry. A defining feature of this process has been the reification
and subsequent knowledge of how ‘culture’ is, and has been, spatially
enunciated and iterated. (Ollier and Winter, 2006: 16)
Norindr (2006) supports this conclusion by demonstrating how fascination
with the aura of Angkor and ‘vanished’ Khmerness remains prevalent
among popular discourses. Here the continuing legacy of colonial mythologies
is attributed to tourism since the industry has become a driving force of the
Cambodian economy. For instance, while it is still common for tourists to
496 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

encounter literature dealing with Khmer art, architecture and royal dynasties,
this emphasis on high culture tends to overshadow the diverse subjectivities
of Khmer locals who continue to live and work around the temples. Norindr
argues that:
identifying Angkor Wat and court culture as the quintessence of
Cambodianness … support[s] a very narrow definition of what it means
to be Khmer, and perpetuate[s] … dangerous myths about the loss of the
nation’s cultural heritage and customs, promoting, perhaps unwittingly,
high culture over more popular forms of knowledge. (2006: 57)
When Khmer subjects do become visible, it is often as victims of the geno-
cidal Khmer Rouge since this theme lends itself to a touristic desire to con-
sume tragic sites (Lennon and Foley, 2000; Seaton, 1996). Lacking are
narratives giving voice ‘to the desires and ambitions of the Angkor people’
(Norindr, 2006: 68), which has the direct effect of rendering these people
invisible.
The repeated articulation of colonial fantasies has characterized the dis-
cursive context within which Cambodia has been framed and narrated for
more than a century. Winter warns that these problematic discourses are
only likely to proliferate due to: ‘the consistently pervasive influence of
travel writing or guidebooks and television channels such as Lonely Planet’
(2006: 39). This phantasmagorical Cambodia resembles what Fürsich
and Kavoori refer to as national tourism, a common practice: ‘where
unified national symbols are constructed, even if this involves the cultural
“cleansing” of cultural practices that are thought of as not attractive to
tourists’ (2001: 159). The authors note that this significant aspect of travel
writing has yet to be fully explored, raising a series of questions for future
work. It is therefore worthwhile to pay closer attention to the discursive
practices of LP Cambodia, since this popular text is highly influential
among tourists negotiating the wide network of texts, discourses and
representations of Cambodia and the Angkor temples.

Articulating ‘bare essentials’: Cambodia as affordable,

authentic and tragic

Critical analysis of examples from ‘Getting Started’, ‘Itineraries’ and ‘Culture’

introduce affordability, authenticity and tragedy as three themes central to
the narrative structure of LP Cambodia. As a promotional text, the guide-
book relies upon the reproduction of these favourable themes, which also
function as moments where wider discourses of tourism, heritage and
colonialism are articulated. The subsequent discussion aims to demonstrate
the centrality of these themes and address some of the epistemological
implications of their continual reproduction. It also points to evidence of
moments when discourses of colonialism are re-enacted in the guide’s
neocolonial vocabulary.
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 497

‘Getting Started’ opens with a short segment on the author before

covering the ‘bare essentials’ for a trip to Cambodia (Ray, 2005: 12–16).
Nick Ray, an expatriate from the UK, currently resides in Phnom Phen. His
status as an ‘expert’ on the region is credited to past experience writing for
several guidebooks, newspapers and magazines. The chapter continues by
establishing why Cambodia is an attractive destination. First, cost of travel
is addressed, placing emphasis on a range of activities and accommodations
catering to any budget. The author explains that a ‘traveller’ can spend ‘as
little as US $10 per day’ and ‘live it up’ for $10 more. Below this information,
a caption box entitled ‘Don’t leave home without …’ opens by stressing:
‘Bring as little as possible. Cambodia has everything you can find at home,
only a whole lot cheaper’ (2005: 13).
A list of Cambodia’s ‘Top Tens’ introduces the temples of Angkor and
the genocidal Khmer Rouge as two central Cambodian attractions. The
caption above ‘Ancient Temples’ reads: ‘Cambodia is truly the temple cap-
ital of Asia. The kingdom is littered with the lavish legacy of the god-kings.
Choose from majestic mountain-top temples, forbidding and forgotten jun-
gle fortresses, incredible carved riverbeds and pre-Angkorian brick cities’
(Ray, 2005: 15). Below this statement, the names of 10 temples are accom-
panied by descriptions of their most appealing attributes. ‘The Cambodian
tragedy in words’ lists 10 recommended readings on the Cambodian geno-
cide, describing the event as ‘the dark void into which the country plunged
in the 1970s’ (2005: 15). The list of books is a precursor to supplementary
information on touring Anlong Veng (the main Khmer Rouge stronghold),
Tuol Sleng (museum of genocidal crime), the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek
(a mass grave containing remains of more than 8000 victims) and other
commemorative sites.
The ‘Itineraries’ section (Ray, 2005: 17–21) outlines some potential
routes for travellers seeking Cambodian attractions. The title of each route
(‘The Cambodia Experience’, ‘The Lost Temples of the Northwest’, ‘Run to
the Hills’, etc.) is followed by a map and outline of stops travellers are
encouraged to make. This passage exemplifies the narrative tone of such
descriptions:
In the steaming jungles of Cambodia, forgotten to the world for centuries,
lie several stunning religious monuments that make the perfect excuse to
extend your stay by a week or more. The beauty of this tough trip on
rough roads is that it is the alternative, adventurous way. (2005: 19)
Visiting Angkor features prominently in each itinerary, with references such
as: ‘Finish the trip at the temples of Angkor, a mind-blowing experience
with which few sites on earth can compare’ (2005: 17).
The ‘Culture’ section (Ray, 2005: 42–53) introduces readers to vari-
ous dimensions of Cambodian culture and social life. In the opening portion,
Ray outlines some key components of what he refers to as ‘The National
Psyche’ (2005: 42). Angkor is articulated here as a defining feature of
the nation:
498 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

Angkor is everywhere: it’s on the flag, it’s the national beer, it’s hotels
and guesthouses, it’s cigarettes, it’s anything and everything. It’s a symbol
of nationhood, of fierce pride, a fingers-up to the world that says no
matter how bad things have become, you can’t forget the fact that we,
the Cambodians, built Angkor Wat and it doesn’t come bigger than
that. (Ray, 2005: 42)

A subsequent passage reads:

Contrast this with the abyss into which the country was sucked during
the hellish years of the Khmer Rouge, which left a people profoundly
shocked, suffering inside, stoical on the outside. Pol Pot is a dirty word in
Cambodia due to the death and suffering he inflicted on the country.
(Ray, 2005: 42).

These opening remarks establish the sense that Cambodia offers unique and
authentic attractions at affordable prices. It also becomes apparent that LP
Cambodia is aimed at a Western audience, with primary emphasis on the
‘traveller’.4 By proposing to take travellers ‘off the beaten track’, the
guide reproduces Lonely Planet’s wider image as an alternative source of
travel information, helping users avoid the congestion of mass tourism.
This image is upheld by establishing affordability, authenticity and tragedy
as primary nodal points5 around which the guide articulates Cambodia.
Despite the repeated articulation of this anti-tourism stance, the resulting
narrative tends to reproduce certain ‘structures of attraction’ (MacCannell,
1976) characteristic of wider discourses of tourism, heritage and colonialism
in Cambodia.
For MacCannell, a tourist attraction is ‘an empirical relationship between
a tourist, a sight and a marker’ (1976: 41). The marker provides information
about a sight that helps generate and reinforce the conceptions of that space
that are consumed by tourists. Structures of attraction are formed on the
basis of a relationship between an abundance of such markers and touristic
preferences about which sights are most important. Throughout the guide,
recurring themes function as markers insofar as they mediate Cambodia to
audiences, enhancing the popular appeal of certain attractions. This privi-
leging of certain themes (markers), at the expense of elements unlikely to sat-
isfy touristic expectations, creates structures of attraction that limit the range
of coverage to items favourable to Lonely Planet’s agenda. This process is
evidenced by Ray’s repeated praise for the low cost of accommodations and
services – the discourse of affordability – which is accompanied by disregard
for Cambodia’s troubling socioeconomic status as one of the poorest nations
in South East Asia. Likewise, while we seldom encounter information about
the cultural practices of Khmer locals in LP Cambodia, the aura of Angkor
and the tragic episode of the Khmer Rouge – discourses of authenticity and
tragedy – are repeatedly emphasized since these themes are known to satisfy
tourists with diverse backgrounds and motivations.
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 499

This privileging of specific themes in LP Cambodia becomes apparent

through a closer look at how the aforementioned examples correspond with
other tourism discourses. Take, for instance, the significance of affordability in
relation to discourses of alternative travel. Kelly Davidson (2005) has investi-
gated what discourses appeal to alternative travellers. She argues that space
is central to such constructions, since certain contexts or environments are
required for alternative travellers to ‘fashion the types of transgressive
identities that they embrace’ (2005: 26). She proceeds to identify nomadism,
difference, authenticity and a utopian outlook as key features in ‘construct[ing]
travel as an alternative way of orienting oneself in the world’ (2005: 32). An
additional factor, which Davidson alludes to, is the centrality of affordability
in alternative travel discourses. The author correctly refers to the routes of
these travellers as ‘budget travel circuits’ (2005: 35) since seeking affordable
environments is often essential to sustaining such identity pursuits. The desire
to broaden one’s experience, in other words, is fuelled by narratives associ-
ating favourable attractions with budget accommodations, food and supplies.
LP Cambodia’s popular appeal among independent travellers (Bhattacharyya,
1997; Davidson, 2005) can be attributed, on some level, to moments in the
discourse where the low cost of travel is emphasized – a practice central to the
narrative structure of the guide.
The appeal of the discourse of affordability is certainly not limited to trav-
ellers aiming to distance themselves from popular tourism. If this were so, it
seems Lonely Planet would not enjoy such a considerable stake in the global
tourism industry, grossing over $60 million in annual profit (Friend, 2005).
When considering LP Cambodia’s appeal among audiences with a range of
competing tastes and preferences, an interesting contradiction arises: if
Lonely Planet avoids association with mainstream tourism, choosing niche
or fringe-based perspectives instead, why is it that the discourse often mirrors
prevalent forms of touristic representation? It seems that, by articulating an
anti-tourism stance, Lonely Planet manages successfully to blur the bound-
aries between mainstream and alternative tourism discourses. The resulting
narrative appeals to a much wider readership. Subjects identifying themselves
as travellers are satisfied with repeated emphasis on alternative experiences,
while tourists relate to the conventional themes and practices that remain
implicitly present in the guides. To demonstrate LP Cambodia’s capacity to
appeal to these differing perspectives it is necessary to consider the discourses
of authenticity and tragedy.
Recalling Mouhot’s ‘discovery’ of Angkor, Edwards notes an interest-
ing contradiction between Mouhot’s original writings and what was later
published in a French travel journal. Sketches of his first impressions
contained human figures, while Tour de Monde either excluded these
sketches or: ‘enhanced Mouhot’s drawings with stormy skies or excised
native figures, reinforcing the message that Khmers were a vanished race’
(Edwards, 2007: 20). This erasure of Khmer subjects is exemplary of French
efforts to justify colonial expansion through the repeated juxtaposition of
500 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

a degenerate Cambodian present with a more authentic past.6 Edwards

notes that this created: ‘lasting ramifications for the shaping of Khmer
nationalism … [infusing] that nationalism with … an inexorable longing
for a return to the past’ (2007: 22). Consequently, this tendency to associate
the high culture of a vanished Khmer civilization with Cambodian nation-
alism has remained central to contemporary discourses. The rediscovery
of a lost or vanished Khmer civilization features prominently in LP Cambodia
and visiting these ancient sites is consistently framed as one of the most
authentic aspects of a trip to Cambodia. Ray invokes such mythological
constructions by encouraging travellers to explore, ‘forbidding and forgot-
ten jungle fortresses’, ‘lost temples of the northwest’, and religious mon-
uments ‘forgotten to the world for centuries’ (2005: 15, 19). The author
also contributes to the modern celebration of Angkor as a Cambodian
national monument (2005: 42).
Despite awareness of the inauthenticity of modern attractions (Fürsich and
Kavoori, 2001; Urry, 1990), Ray’s continual emphasis on these themes
suggests that tourists and anti-tourists continue: ‘searching for authenticity
(beyond the impossibilities of the postmodern age) … an elite construct of
authenticity high on cultural capital and distinctively class defining’ (Fürsich
and Kavoori, 2001: 165). Moreover, since producing structures of attraction is
central to LP Cambodia’s promotional agenda, the guidebook narrative relies
upon the very same colonial myths fostered by Western assumptions about a
once great, now vanished Khmer civilization. The reproduction of these dis-
courses of authenticity makes the narrative attractive to a much wider audi-
ence. Independent travellers or ‘anti-tourists’, on the one hand, identify with
the heightened sense of difference and authenticity embodied in Ray’s accounts
of the challenging itineraries required to reach remote temple sites. Tourists, on
the contrary, are reassured that experiencing the aura of Angkor merely
requires setting foot in a nation where ‘Angkor is everywhere’ (Ray, 2005: 42).
In each instance, Angkor is constructed as a uniform and mechanistic struc-
ture, problematic insofar as the guidebook’s narrative fails to represent
‘tourism as part of a complex picture of interwoven social and cultural
relations’ (Aitchison, 2001: 145). The outcome is to position LP Cambodia as
the most recent voice of authority on Cambodia, rarely subjected to question
or criticism. Hence, while Lonely Planet may claim to promote culturally
sensitive travel, in this case the narrative reproduces ‘a monocultural, mono-
lithic, unchanging, and inflexible identity’ (Winter, 2006: 51), which renders
much of the Khmer people’s complex social and cultural history invisible.
When Khmer subjects appear in LP Cambodia, it is often as victims of the
violence and torture of the Khmer Rouge. Ray notes that many Cambodians
continue to suffer from trauma, describing them as ‘a people profoundly
shocked, suffering inside, [and] stoical on the outside’ (2005: 42). The guide
also provides extensive coverage of sites throughout the country where sig-
nificant events and atrocities from the period took place. Concentration on
these tragic moments can be explained by a wider touristic curiosity for the
‘pain of others’ (Sontag, 2003), exemplified by the global appeal of visiting
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 501

Ground Zero, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Nazi gas chambers and other popularized
memorial sites. There is a wealth of literature on thanatourism (Seaton, 1996)
or dark tourism (Lennon and Foley, 2000) which seeks to explain this
motivation to visit tragic sites. Sharpley has outlined four key metaphors of
consumption which can be associated with the motives for dark tourism:
experience, play, integration and classification (2005: 223). Focusing on expe-
rience and classification, we can see how these metaphors can be influential
in the consumption choices of independent travellers and mainstream tourists
in Cambodia. Reading the guidebook, the former may feel their experience is
amplified by showing empathy for victims of the Khmer Rouge whereas the
latter might gain ‘a voyeuristic sense of arousal or a sense of superiority’ from
observing tragic sites (Dahlgren et al., 2005). Repeated articulation of the
discourse of tragedy functions as a nodal point capable of appealing to
subjects with these differing motivations.
The supply side of dark tourism in Cambodia must also be taken into
account as there is a range of cultural, political, historical or commercial
motivations for the development of dark attractions (Sharpley, 2005). Wood
has recently observed some consequences of ‘putting the country’s history of
suffering at the service of attracting revenue’ (2006: 181). The problems he
associates with these practices include:
A singular version of history at odds with and at the expense of local
participation; a memorialization apparatus that reproduces and extends
existing hierarchies and lines of control; and an intensified commodification
of historical sites and land that generates greater economic vulnerability
and social tension. (Wood, 2006: 182)
He offers evidence of this alarming trend by focusing on Anlong Veng, an
attraction where the historical narrative has been fixed to correspond with
efforts to promote tourism in the region (Wood, 2006: 190). This limiting
of Cambodian history to a selection of episodes centred on global tourism
threatens erasure of the more nuanced, multi-faceted cultural narratives
that characterize the region’s vast history (Winter, 2006: 51). Yet to date
these questionable threads continue to carry considerable weight in
Cambodian tourism discourses. This is quite evident in LP Cambodia
where it has been noted that the discourse of Cambodian tragedy appears
repeatedly throughout the guide. The irony is that while Lonely Planet
appeals to a diverse audience and claims to promote responsible travel, dis-
cursive practices are limited to a series of presumptions that leave out a
wealth of differing perspectives.

Sighting silences: articulating Angkor at w(h)at expense?

Environment: travel that minimises negative environmental impacts and,

where possible, makes positive contributions to the conservation of biodiver-
sity, wilderness, natural and human heritage.
502 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

Social/Cultural: travel that respects culture and traditions and fosters

authentic interaction and greater understanding between travellers and
hosts.

Economic: travel that has financial benefits for the host community and
operates on the principles of fair trade. (Lonely Planet Online, 2008)
Lonely Planet Online (2008) answers the question ‘What is Responsible
Travel?’ by offering these definitions of ‘bottom line’ issues central to
the company ethos. The previous discussion drew attention to a correlation
between the discursive practices of LP Cambodia and popular tourism
discourses, bringing the guidebook’s alleged philosophy into question. This
contradiction between principle and practice is also evident in the guide’s
treatment of some specific issues threatening the livelihood of many
Cambodians. Furthering efforts to appeal to a wider audience, the guide
represents these economic, sociocultural and environmental concerns in a
manner that avoids critical engagement with the real issues. The problem,
according to Elfriede Fürsich, is that while:
Lonely Planet’s untourism is critical to the problems of mass tourism
and thrives on class immersion of the Western backpack tourist to the
conditions of locals … it does not question its own conflicted position
as a voluntary and temporary escape from consumer society and the
negative impact of backpack tourism on visited countries. (2003: 12)
Analysis of examples from the ‘Temples of Angkor’ section reveals some direct
consequences of these discursive practices; most notably, the silencing of
local perspectives on tourism development in the region.
‘Temples of Angkor’ provides readers with a 44-page guide, which includes
detailed maps of the temple grounds, suggested itineraries, historical back-
ground, photographs and more (Ray, 2005: 134–78). This lengthy passage
from ‘Admission Fees’ addresses concerns about ticket concessions:
Entry tickets to the temples of Angkor are controlled by a local petroleum
company called Sokimex, which in return for administering the site takes
15% of the revenue. Just 10% goes to Apsara Authority, the body respon-
sible for protecting and conserving the temples, and 75% goes to the
Finance Ministry – it’s anyone’s guess what happens once it enters that
black hole. Putting profit before preservation is, in our opinion, a scandal
and the situation will hopefully change in the coming years. Ironically, the
situation is better than it was a few years ago, when ticket scams were
plentiful and almost nothing of the entrance fee filtered through the tem-
ples themselves. (Ray, 2005: 144)
The statement indicates that there is reason to be alarmed by Sokimex
and the Cambodian authorities’ considerable stake in profits resulting
from the increasing popularity of Angkor. The adjacent text box, ‘When
Nature Calls’, provides commentary on public toilets. Ray notes that: ‘Angkor
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 503

is now blessed with some of the finest public toilets in Asia’ and ends with
a warning: ‘Remember, in remote areas, don’t stray off the path – being seen
in a compromising position is infinitely better than stepping on a land mine’
(2005: 145). On the next page, the author claims:
The days of serene and spiritual moments within the confines of empty
temples are definitely over. Angkor is back on the tourist trail and is getting
busier by the year. But it’s not all that bad news, as, with a little planning,
it is still possible to escape from the hordes. (2005: 146)
Despite the inevitability of crowds and congestion, Ray assures travellers that
making good choices at the temples can still result in a gratifying experience.
The first passage introduces a situation that is more complicated than
readers are likely to discern. Sokimex has enjoyed a steady rise in profits
since it gained control of Angkor ticket concessions. Yet, according to LP
Cambodia, it is unclear where the vast majority of their income is spent.
The guide acknowledges this is a troubling arrangement but fails to address
problems posed by the commodification of heritage sites such as Angkor for
local economies (Wood, 2006). After the Sokimex takeover, Khmer locals
were banned from selling souvenirs and refreshments inside the temples.
It also became difficult for locals to use roads running through the temple
complex, despite the fact Khmers are supposed to have unregulated access
to the sites (Boland, 2005). These restrictions make it complicated for locals
to generate income from the high concentration of tourists, which the
guidebook praises as a key source of income. Boland (2005) speculates
these are just initial stages in a process that is seeing Angkor ‘sanitized and
Disneyfied for tourists’. A study by Apsara Authority and the New Zealand
government confirms the situation continues to deteriorate with less than
20 cents from every tourist dollar reaching Khmer locals, while the major-
ity goes to airlines, tour operators and hotel chains (Coggan, 2007). This
reveals some of the damaging effects of commodification for the local
population.7 Most troubling, perhaps, is the growing distance between
those who benefit from Angkor tourism and a much larger population of
poor, displaced Khmer locals. While Lonely Planet claims to encourage
travel that provides financial benefits for host communities, LP Cambodia
neglects opportunities, like this one, to raise awareness of financial hardships
and generate support for the people of Angkor. The outcome is that these
‘subaltern characters’ (Norindr, 2006: 66) are rarely able to voice their
opinions or gain recognition of the steady flow of cultural tourists who
have a direct impact on their daily lives.
The next example warns of the threat landmines pose to travellers who
stray off the beaten path. Winter notes that these warnings, typical of travel
guides such as LP Cambodia, cross conventional boundaries in their capacity
to engage tourists on different levels. For some, the landmine threat ‘is
inherently seductive, whereas for others, a perception of Cambodia as dark
and dangerous means that sticking to that path is eminently preferable and
504 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

safer (Winter, 2006: 47). Granted these precautions are necessary, the guide
fails to provide sufficient coverage of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in Cambodia that need additional support to clear millions of
active landmines (Ollier and Winter, 2006). There are also currently an
estimated 40,000 amputees and hundreds of new victims annually who
require rehabilitation and survivor assistance. Unfortunately, removal and
rehabilitation efforts are ignored in this section and gain limited exposure
throughout the guide. Stuart Hughes (2003) relays a different message, shar-
ing the experience of one such victim: ‘Chum Sakhorn says the landmine he
stepped on also blew away any chance he had of a successful future. Sixteen
years on from his accident, he ekes out a living selling books and postcards
to tourists in Phnom Penh’s central market.’ While Sakhorn’s story raises
awareness of an issue that affects the lives of Cambodians, the guidebook
presents the issue primarily from the perspective of tourists. By silencing the
voices of Cambodian amputees, NGOs and other concerned parties, LP
Cambodia’s discursive practices effectively cancel out its stated effort to
foster interaction and greater understanding between hosts and guests.
The final selection of text overlooks apprehension with regard to the
growing popularity of the Angkor temples. Unregulated development and a
steady flow of tourists have had an environmental impact in and around the
temples. Boland (2005) reports that water scarcity, pollution and the danger
of Bayon temple collapsing were some of many concerns raised by Angkor’s
reputation as an international tourist attraction. ‘It couldn’t be more ironic:
mass unplanned tourism endangering the very attractions that bring people
here’, claims Boland (2005), who adds that:
what’s worse is that very little of the money being generated by these devel-
opments is going back either to the Cambodian people or to help conserve
the temples. Most of the new bars in Siem Reap are leased by foreigners, and
most of the new hotels have been built by foreign developers.
Wood provides further evidence of this disturbing trend noting that:
‘Continued “development”, including clear-cutting often under the auspices
of de-mining, continues to reshape the historical landscape into an unrec-
ognizable form’ (2006: 191). ‘Avoiding the hordes’ makes the assumption
that locals are completely satisfied with rising levels of mobility around the
temples. This presumption fails to acknowledge the drastic impact these
changes are having on the landscapes inhabited by Khmer people for
centuries. LP Cambodia’s lack of interest in the negative environmental impact
of ceaseless development in the Angkor region is disturbing, especially since
the presence of tourism is only likely to intensify in the coming years.
The rhetorical strategies identified in these sections have the tendency to
advise travellers to tread lightly and accept that poverty, corruption and
environmental degradation (among other issues) are inevitable attributes
of a trip to Cambodia. Each example evidences the discrepancy between
company values and actual practice. These inconsistencies are often quite
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 505

subtle and at first glance the text reads as though care has been taken to
offer objective coverage of important issues. The careful reading of these
examples points to the limits of such practices, identifying how significant
tensions are absent from LP Cambodia. As a promotional discourse, one
might argue such practices are the inevitable outcome of any commercial
pursuit; Ray merely targets an audience that is most likely to consume this
particular product. However, what is fascinating about LP Cambodia is the
way in which targeting the underbelly of tourism, to a certain extent, functions
as a highly effective marketing strategy. It is successful since other tourists
become ‘the uncouth, despised, insensitive, problematic, simplistic tourist’
(Phipps, 1999: 87), while LP Cambodia’s readers are ‘conscious’ of the issues
and are, therefore, outside this particular categorization. It is also clear that
these practices do not represent the limits of what can be covered in a
guide. LP Cambodia’s future narratives could accomplish a great deal to
raise awareness of local perspectives and encourage ‘anti-tourist’ readers to
demand corporate and government accountability; an approach that would
more closely resemble the company’s responsible travel policy.

Toward a multiperspectival Cambodia

In Imperial Eyes, Mary Louise Pratt draws our attention to the complexities
of cultural encounters in the spaces of late 18th- and early 19th-century
colonization. She refers to these spaces as contact zones: ‘where disparate
cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in highly asymmetri-
cal relations of domination and subordination’ (1992: 4). Pratt analyses
prominent travel narratives to demonstrate how ‘indigenous peoples are
abstracted away from the history that is being made’ (1992: 64) by colonial
authors reflecting on experiences in these contact zones. These earlier
moments of contact are today superseded by complex, commodified cultural
encounters at tourism destinations like the Angkor temples. Yet, in these
contemporary spaces, I have identified a related set of practices that continue
to characterize widely circulated tourism discourses of Cambodia and which
merit further attention.
A growing proliferation of Western perspectives on the tourist experience
in Cambodia still fails to account for the diverse perspectives of local
peoples. Characterizing this absence led us to problematize LP Cambodia’s
influential status as a widely circulated representational text; a necessary
undertaking since studies of tourism have seldom accounted for the specific
role of guidebooks in tourist systems. The mapping of wider historical
narratives drew attention to their resemblance to relatively narrow framings
of the Angkor temples in contemporary tourism discourses. While colonial
discourses were central to French expansionist policy and exploitation in
Indochina (Norindr, 1996), the guide emphasizes themes of affordability,
authenticity and tragedy in support of Lonely Planet’s hegemonic status as
506 I N T E R N AT I O N A L journal of C U LT U R A L studies 13(5)

a key player in the global tourism arena. In specific instances, we saw how
the maintenance of such themes tended to undermine the company’s claim
to advocate for sustainable, socially conscious and responsible modes of
tourism. If we accept that guidebooks such as LP Cambodia play an influential
role in mediating cultural relations at tourist destinations, then we must
continue asking what hidden sights are revealed through careful investigation
of these contemporary tourism discourses.
It seems that LP Cambodia’s story, which appears to represent self-
evident truths, points to the beginning of another story that has yet to be told.
As Norindr suggests: ‘New images of vibrant customs and cultural practices
must be brought to light, which must distinguish themselves from the same
commodified and instrumentalized images … mobilized by a global tourism
industry’ (2006: 57). This observation encourages us to move toward a
reconceptualization of the way cross-cultural encounters are understood,
one which draws attention to discourses that are currently lacking from the
most prevalent forms of touristic representation: studies of tourism must
ask, in other words, how we can begin to make way for discursive practices
that allow local stories to be told.
Considering the contradictions addressed in this article, it is fruitful to
begin to consider how local perspectives can inform the study of tourism. It
is crucial, for instance, that we begin to examine the ways in which local
populations at tourist attractions are affected by their symbolic representa-
tion in guides. It is also important to pay more careful attention to the
material impacts of tourism, especially those that affect the daily lives of
local inhabitants. On trips to the global South, we can no longer remain
oblivious to the lives of those who are directly affected by our presence.

Notes

1 The author is aware of a growing presence of Asian tourists in Cambodia

with diverse cultural backgrounds and motivations. This trend certainly
raises important new issues and questions for studies of tourism. However,
due to the limited scope of this article, emphasis is placed on what is viewed
as the problematic impact of a predominance of Western-oriented tourism
discourses in non-Western destinations such as Cambodia.
2 The examination of discursive constructions of Cambodia relates to the aims
of critical discourse analysis (CDA). CDA is generally concerned with ‘ques-
tions about particular forms of social practice, and their relations to the
social structure’ (Fairclough, 1992: 226). More specifically, CDA is a rela-
tively flexible method that probes three important and overlapping levels of
discourse: text, discursive practice and ‘the social practice of which the discourse
is part’ (Fairclough, 1992: 226). Mark Thompson (2004) offers a helpful
starting point for developing a multiperspectival approach to CDA. Adapting
Fairclough’s version of CDA, Thompson examines a specific text while
simultaneously accounting for its wider social context. After a selection of
 Tegelberg ● Hidden sights 507

text is identified, Thompson explains that: ‘the discursive practices upon

which it draws [are] identified, and linked to the underlying power relations
which may be reproduced by the interaction’ (2004: 108). The discursive
analysis of LP Cambodia builds upon this model by identifying a selection of
text and later subjecting it to critical analysis.
3 Although the comparative analysis of two or more Cambodia guides
would have yielded insights, such an undertaking is beyond the scope of
this article. Instead, the primary objective has been to locate and critique
the ideological positioning of LP Cambodia within the wider discourses
of colonialism, heritage and tourism that have functioned to marginalize
and/or silence Cambodian subjects for well over a century (see Edwards,
2007; Norindr, 1996).
4 For our purposes, it is sufficient to say that by ‘traveller’ Lonely Planet refers
to an ‘individualistic, adventurous approach’ (Sharpley, 1994: 66) rather
than the ease and comfort of a package tour. For further discussion of the
differences between travellers and tourists see: Cohen (1973), Sharpley
(1994), Davidson (2005).
5 By ‘nodal points’, following Laclau and Mouffe, I refer to the privileged signs
within the discourse of Lonely Planet that other signs acquire their meaning
from. For a more detailed discussion, see Laclau and Mouffe (1985).
6 Mary Louis Pratt has referred to this as an ‘anti-conquest’ mode of representa-
tion: ‘whereby European bourgeois subjects seek to secure their innocence in the
same moment as they assert European hegemony’ (1992: 7). Pratt examines a
number of additional strategies in travel and exploration literatures that have
contributed to a long and complex history of problematic European construc-
tions of non-European subjects. In this article, initial steps are taken toward
exposing more recent manifestations of these conventions and strategies in
Western tourism discourses (e.g. authenticity, tragedy and affordability).
7 This is not the only case where a heritage site has been privatized in Cambodia.
In April 2005, the Cheoung Ek ‘Killing Fields’ were sold to JC Royal, a
Japanese company which gained the right to collect admission fees from
foreign tourists entering the site (CBC News, 2005). Wood also notes that
‘corporate sponsorship has become an increasingly conspicuous feature of the
government’s management of its tourist sites’ (2006: 185) and offers a list of
recent corporate acquisitions.

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● MATTHEW TEGELBERG is a doctoral candidate in Cultural Studies

at Trent University in Ontario, Canada. He is interested in tourism,
representation and development in the global south. Matthew is
currently working on a doctoral project that examines the complex
nature of cultural exchanges between tourists, long-term travelers and
host communities in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Address: Cultural
Studies (PhD Office), Trent University Crawford House, Room 106, 310
London Street, Peterborough, K9H 7P4, Canada.
[email: mtegelberg@gmail.com] ●