Short videos shared on social media about the Temple Run trend around Angkor Wat temple, with images of tourists running on stairs, climbing around the nearly 1,000-year-old cultural relic of Cambodia.
Some videos have garnered more than 2 million views and inspired many others to follow suit, SCMP reported. Angelina Dougherty, a Cambodian-American who was crowned Miss Asia Pacific in the 2023 beauty pageant, also joined the trend with a video of her and another woman running and jumping over the temple, similar to moves in a video game.
A series of videos implementing this trend were posted on the TikTok network platform.
“Temple Run”, a 2011 video game developed by Imangi Studios, in which the player controls a character running through the ruins of a temple while avoiding obstacles and evil creatures that chase after them. Temple Run’s setting features stone structures and pathways that closely resemble the ruins of Angkor.
The incident highlights the challenges facing historic site managers in balancing attracting visitors and preserving local values. According to a report by American Express, social media is a top source of inspiration for those planning to visit.
Temple Run is a famous game with the aim of escaping from the temple.
Simon Warrack, a conservationist at Angkor for more than 30 years, worries that the nearly 1,000-year-old religious site is at risk of damage. He also expressed frustration at the insensitivity of many tourists to culture and religion. “You don’t run around in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome or any church in the West. So why do people do that in Cambodia?”
With Cambodia’s tourism industry on the rise again, approaching pre-COVID-19 levels, some believe that relaxing regulations could attract more tourists, while others are concerned about the negative impact of insensitive behavior on cultural heritage.
Tourism contributes greatly to the Cambodian economy. Therefore, people believe that tourists should be encouraged to visit and explore the country. As long as they do not cause negative impacts on heritage, small activities such as climbing are not too serious a problem.
