Kampot, a colonial-style jewel in Southern Cambodia

By Luc Citrinot - 18 March 2013, 
http://www.traveldailynews.asia
  

Less known as a destination than Siem Reap, Phnom Penh or even Sihanoukville, the small city of Kampot will delight tourists in love with colonial architecture with its dozens of French–style shophouses. Kampot has it all to become a popular destination for Cambodia. But it will have to face the right balance between preservation and a possible over-commercialization.

KAMPOT - Kampot, in Southern Cambodia, has only 35,000 inhabitants and is located 150 km southwest of Phnom Penh. Kampot is well known in Cambodia for its durian fruits –dubbed to be the tastiest in the country- for its pepper which is now a registered trade brand (AOC) and for its salt production.

Although pepper has all the potential to be the base for agro-tourism –there is Farm Link Ltd, a pepper farm in the city centre where visitors can observe pepper cultivation and buy products. However, there is neither a pepper museum nor a restaurant with specialties cooked with pepper flavour.

What is however Kampot best asset is its well preserved old town along the so-called “Front”, the area stretching east of the Kampot Bay River. Built in typical French colonial style, the Front and its adjacent streets have all the charm of a by-gone era. They are probably between 70 and 100 houses which were built in French style, turning Kampot into probably Cambodia’s best preserved city for colonial architecture.

This is a real asset but also a challenge for the city. Colonial architecture could become effectively the “trade mark” of Kampot if the Provincial administration as well as Cambodia’s national government are able to preserve the existing architectural substance and enhance its quality.

This could translate into the clean- up of the entire old historical district around the market; the beautification of public spaces with flowers or proper lighting; and most important, some attractions and shops for the tourists. Small cafes and restaurants, art galleries, design shops as well as a program of cultural activities would turn old Kampot into an attraction far beyond its own city limit.


Preserving Kampot authenticity will in fact be also a real challenge. Especially as the city is located within a region which experiences one of Cambodia’s largest commercial developments for tourism. A few km away from Kampot, there is Bokor Mountain. Formerly a French hill resort, Bokor is embarked into a huge development project which foresees over 2,000 bed rooms in at least three hotels, a casino, residences and private villas among others…

Further to the south, the port city of Sihanoukville is turning into Cambodia’s new “Riviera” city- although it has more currently the reputation of a Wild west city… And finally, in Kampot itself, they are plans to build a new cruise port for medium-size ships. The seeport would benefit from the nearby presence of Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam, a duty free paradise marked as Vietnam’s answer to Phuket.

Finding the right balance to preserve Kampot for an uncontrolled development and keep a high-quality product, is the task for all parties interested to foster tourism to Kampot. A task which might be harder to follow than just developing hotels in the area…