Park Hyatt Siem Reap partners with the World Monuments Fund to support the conservation of Angkor | News
Park Hyatt Siem Reap today announced a partnership with the World Monuments Fund (WMF), aimed at supporting long-term conservation training at Angkor Archaeological Park and deepening guests’ responsible engagement with one of the world’s most important cultural landscapes.
The collaboration has two core elements:
Funding for the Heritage Foreman-Training Initiative through the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation. This six-month program will equip 25 local foremen with the technical skills needed to care for Angkor’s historic temple complexes. Participants will be drawn from local communities in and around Siem Reap and will be trained to serve as custodians of Angkor, ensuring that the highly specialized knowledge needed for long-term conservation remains in Siem Reap and that Angkor’s conservation remains locally led in perpetuity.
Raising awareness of WMF’s heritage training initiatives by offering Park Hyatt Siem Reap guests exclusive, intimate educational experiences at Angkor Archaeological Park. Led by WMF and their team of specialists, visits to active nature reserves at the 9th-century hilltop temple Phnom Bakheng will provide guests with a rare behind-the-scenes insight into the traditional craftsmanship, conservation techniques and complexities behind one of the world’s most visited cultural heritage sites.
“Siem Reap is home to one of the most extraordinary cultural treasures in the world, and we are honored to support the important work that the World Monuments Fund has been carrying out at Angkor for decades,” said Himanshu Kapoor, General Manager of Park Hyatt Siem Reap. “We are excited to offer guests a unique opportunity to connect more deeply with Cambodia’s rich heritage through experiences that are both meaningful and memorable, while helping to preserve Angkor for generations to come.”
40 years of locally led heritage conservation
WMF has invested approximately $19.5 million in conservation efforts across Cambodia, with the work largely carried out by Cambodian professionals trained through WMF programs. Since the 1990s, these initiatives have supported more than 100 Cambodian conservation technicians annually, many of whom have served for fifteen years or more. They have contributed an estimated $20 to $25 million in local economic impact and helped restore technical knowledge lost due to decades of historic conflict.
WMF’s work at Phnom Bakheng, Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, Ta Som and other major temple sites in Angkor represents one of the organization’s longest and most enduring conservation commitments at any UNESCO World Heritage site.
“For nearly four decades, WMF has been working with our Cambodian partners at Angkor to protect one of the most important cultural landscapes in the world while building the technical knowledge needed to preserve it,” said Bénédicte de Montlaur, president and CEO of the World Monuments Fund. “At the heart of this effort is our long-standing training program, which equips Cambodian conservators with the skills to care for these monuments in the long term, ensuring that conservation is locally led and sustainable. Park Hyatt Siem Reap’s support strengthens this work by connecting responsible tourism with hands-on conservation and expanding opportunities to train the next generation. This partnership shows how the private sector can play a critical role in protecting heritage in the region, ensuring Angkor is resilient and resilient remains accessible for generations to come.”
This important work aligns with Hyatt’s global World of Care approach, helping destinations thrive. Building on nearly thirty years of field education in Angkor, the program helps equip Cambodian conservation professionals with practical technical skills needed to care for Angkor’s historic temple complexes and ensure efforts remain locally led amid increasing environmental and visitor pressures of more than two million visitors per year.
Park Hyatt’s commitment to culture
Park Hyatt Siem Reap’s partnership with WMF is the latest in the Park Hyatt brand’s ongoing series of local cultural investment initiatives, designed to support creative arts and heritage around the world. Like the Hyatt umbrella brand, the Park Hyatt brand adheres to the principle that every property has a responsibility to provide a positive benefit to all the people and places it touches.
From Shanghai to Buenos Aires, Park Hyatt hotels are contextually rooted in their location, informed and shaped by the cultures and communities around them, while also actively participating in the cultural life of their destination.
