Tourists to floating village spawn "floating beggars"

Beggars in boats cause chaos for tourists in Cambodia

Apr 21, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Thousands of tourists visiting Cambodia's famous floating village have unwittingly spawned a new problem - floating beggars, local media reported Monday.

Chong Kneas village has become a popular side trip from the tourist town of Siem Reap, 300 kilometres north of the capital, and authorities are desperate to stem the flow of intrepid beggars that have accompanied the boom, Koh Santepheap daily newspaper said.

The newspaper reported the panhandlers come by outboard, row boat and even propel themselves in plastic buckets and bathtubs to crowd cruise boats and solicit tourist cash, and it is beginning to damage the tourist industry.

'Among around 50 beggar boats, 24 have outboard motors, 28 are row boats and seven are plastic buckets, but these numbers can vary depending on the number of tourists,' the paper said.

Chong Kneas is home to around 1,000 floating homes, restaurants, schools, boutique farms and even a Catholic church and is part of many organized tours for travelers tired of touring temples.

The inhabitants were formerly mainly fishermen, but the lure of cash has converted more and more to the lucrative begging industry.

Authorities say they do not have the facilities to arrest and detain the scores of beggars.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the problem had become so severe that the issue would be discussed at a regional meeting on Siem Reap tourism issues in a fortnight.

'Chong Kneas is a very valuable tourist attraction, so we have to be ready to provide quality, service, sanitation and security and order,' he said by telephone.

Cambodian Tourist Arrivals Up 19% For First Nine Months

Wed, Nov 7 2007

PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Tourist arrivals to Cambodia climbed 19% for the first three quarters of 2007 compared to the same period last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday.

"We expect tourist arrivals to reach 2.0 million in 2007," he told a biannual investment and trade meeting.

Cambodia recorded about 1.7 million tourist arrivals in 2006.

The burgeoning tourist sector has injected new life into impoverished Cambodia, which is still recovering from decades of conflict.

The boom in visitors has brought with it new construction, as developers race to meet demand for hotels and resorts, Hun Sen said.

Earlier this year the government also approved plans for several high-end resorts worth $627 million to be built on the islands off of the country's southern coast.

Foreign airlines have been keen to take advantage of the rising number of tourists, with Japan Airlines becoming the latest carrier to offer direct charter flights to Cambodia.

JAL will fly between three major Japanese cities and Siem Reap, the gateway to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples.

Hun Sen said two companies are in talks with officials to form a national carrier, of which the Cambodian government will hold a 30% stake.

Several attempts to form a national airline have failed since Royal Air Cambodge, the country's last carrier, collapsed in 2001 under the weight of mounting financial debts.

The prime minister said negotiators had reached a deal that would protect the government from any losses incurred by the airline.

"We have been waiting for so long now," he said, urging officials to speed up the talks.

Looking at a relic from the past

Tourists look at an artillery gun from the Cambodian civil war, at the top of Phnom Sampove mountain in Battembang province, 350 km (217 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, September 18, 2007. The 12th and last weapons destruction ceremony, supported by Japan Assistance Team for Small Arm Management in Cambodia (JSAC), will be held on September 19. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

10 [from Hong Kong] get food poisoning in Cambodia

August 15, 2007
New.gov.hk (Hong Kong gov't news)

The Centre for Health Protection is investigating the suspected food poisoning of 10 people who fell ill after eating in Cambodia on August 7.

The man and nine women, aged 22 to 59, were holidaying in the country when they developed abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea after a dinner buffet.

On their return to Hong Kong, two sought treatment at Tuen Mun and Prince of Wales Hospitals while another consulted a private doctor. All are in stable condition and no hospitalisation was required.

No dengue cases reported among tourists visiting Angkor: Cambodian official

July 17, 2007

There were no dengue fever cases reported among the tourists visiting Cambodia's Angkor complex in Siem Reap province, Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said on Monday.

"We have checked it already. There is no dengue fever here," Thong Khon told Xinhua during a press conference held outside the Angkor Wat temple, which is Cambodia's most famous tourist destination.

The dengue fever cases are mostly in the countryside of Cambodia, he said. Cambodia's dengue break this year has not affected tourism in Siem Reap, Thong Khon said, adding that the government is doing everything to fight the disease.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Health, the 182 death toll from dengue fever in the first six months of this year already surpassed that of the whole year of 2006, namely 158.

The reported cases of human contamination of the fever so far this year have reached some 15,000.

Source: Xinhua