Angkor guides turn into porters

September 3, 2012
By Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit
TTR Weekly

SIEM REAP, 3 September 2012: Authorities are worried that tour guides are being treated badly by Korean interpreters who fill in when there are no Korean speaking tour guides available.

Provincial tourism authorities claim registered tour guides are being relegated to the role of porters. They admit there is a shortage of guides who can speak Korean, but they reiterated the law clearly stipulates the job of guiding must be carried out by Cambodians and not by foreigners.

Local guides blame the so-called Korean interpreters who they claim treat Cambodian guides badly and ask them to carry water and umbrellas for tourists. The interpreters explain the significance of the temples directly to Korean tourists rather than just translating on behalf of the guide.

Plane Crash Prompts Concerns on Dodgy Travel Packages [for Korean tourists]

Jun.27, 2007
Chosun (South Korea)

Questions about the safety of discount package tours to Southeast Asia and China are on the rise following Monday's fatal plane crash in Cambodia.

According to the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the number of Koreans who traveled to Southeast Asian countries more than doubled from 3.32 million in 2000 to 7.32 million in 2005. The number of travelers to Cambodia, famous for its Angkor Wat historical ruins, increased 15-fold during that period, from 2,046 to 33,072.

With tourism booming in Southeast Asia, some travel agencies are offering discount package tours in a bid to attract customers. While the victims of the accident each paid W599,000 (US$1=W938) for what was intended to be a six-day, four-night Cambodia trip, similar packages can be had for around W270,000 in some places.

In order to offer those bargain-basement prices the agencies sometimes contract with transportation companies that use older buses or planes, and that is becoming a threat to the safety of tourists.

Still, the accident seems to have persuaded few Korean tourists from traveling to Southeast Asia. Three hundred people on Tuesday canceled trips to Cambodia with Hanatour Service, the agency that put the tourists on the plane that crashed. But many tourists booked with other travel agencies left according to schedule.

In order to fill plane seats that they have already booked, travel agencies offer cut-rate tours during the low-demand season, up to one third the price of tours in the high season. Depending on the season, the price of a five-day, three-night tour to Cambodia can vary from around W300,000 to W1.1 million.

Some travel agencies offer tours including food, accommodation and local travel for less than the cost of the plane ticket, but travelers often end up complaining of hidden fees and disappointing tours.

"Choi" paid a local travel agency W500,000 for a five-day, three-night golf trip to Thailand in July of last year, but later filed a case with the Korea Consumer Protection Board requesting for compensation.

"I couldn't get to sleep at the hotel I stayed in the first night because of the noise, and a 'shrimp and pork barbecue' that was supposed to be provided as a special meal was not there. I had a car accident on the way to the airport on the last day and arrived late. The guide didn't direct me through the departure procedures, and I barely got on plane," Choi complained.

Tourism insiders warn that more fatal accidents could happen as agencies are booking cheap airlines to lower their costs.

"Many of the cheap packages to Southeast Asia that are currently on sale are on airplanes that are in poor condition," an official in the tourism industry said. "Because there's a lack of substitute planes, only one or two planes transport all the passengers, and in some cases small airlines with just a few years of domestic flying experience are operating on international routes."

Bodies of four Korean passengers found

A Cambodian charter plane carrying 22 people including 13 Korean tourists is believed to have crashed into near Kirirom mountain (02) while heading for Sihanoukville (03) after taking off from Siem Reap Airport (01). / Yonhap

Jun.26,2007
Four Koreans Found Dead in Cambodia Plane Crash

Chosunilbo (South Korea)

A small passenger plane carrying 22 people including 13 Koreans crashed into a jungle-clad mountain in southern Cambodia on Monday morning, the Foreign Ministry said. Oh Nak-young, councilor at the Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh said, “We’ve heard from local sources that four bodies of Korean passengers were found after a 10-hour search. We still stake our hope on the possibility that the rest of passengers survived somewhere since no explosion was reported.” The four bodies have not been identified because it was dark, Oh said.

Provincial Governor Thach Khorn said the jet took off from Siem Reap Airport at 9:52 a.m. bound for the southern resort of Sihanoukville but crashed in forested mountains in Kampot Province not far from the destination, 130 km southwest of the capital, at around 10:40. In Chiva, a provincial police chief was quoted as saying, "The area is heavily forested and the sky is dark (with rain) so it is hard for us to search. We have not found any pieces of the plane yet."

AP and Reuters quoted local officials as saying that workers on a nearby mountain reported seeing a plane crash in thick forest. Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted local residents as saying there were no survivors.

The plane carried 13 Koreans, three Czechs, one Russian and five Cambodian crew.

The Korean passengers included Cho Jong-ok, a 36-year-old KBS reporter, and his wife and two sons. The Korean passengers spent the weekend in Siem Reap, the gateway to the temples of Angkor Wat. They were to visit Sihanoukville on Monday and return to the northwestern town on Wednesday. They were scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport on Thursday morning.