Cambodia holiday, wildlife & culture

Planet

Our local Cambodian agents use bio diesel for their vehicles in Siem Reap which is more sustainable than normal diesel. They also arrange a clean-up of the local area around the hotels in Siem Reap every six months or so to pick up litter, etc. Guests at their wholly owned hotels are encouraged to only use fresh towels when they need them which is in common with other hotels across the world. All the guides are trained to minimise environmental impact with simple things like not littering and not leaving cars running idle.

Over the last 5 years our local agent has become the top tour operator supporting the Sam Veasna Centre and the Elephant Valley Project which are both doing important conservation work. They have consulted on eco-tourism initiatives like behind the scenes at Phnom Tamao and Wildlife Alliance's Cardamom Mountains trip. They also work closely with these and other eco-tourism initiatives, advising them on the tourism sides of their initiatives thereby helping Cambodia develop as an eco-tourism destination.

The HanumanAlaya hotel aims to be as eco-friendly as possible with water conservation practices and recycling of all paper, glass, cans and plastic. In-room bathroom toiletries often provided in plastic bottles are dispensed in ceramic dispensers to avoid the use of excessive amounts of plastic and low-wattage lightbulbs are used throughout. The hotel also takes part in the annual 'keep the community clean'.

People

Our local agent in Cambodia is entirely locally-owned and locally-staffed and firmly believes that tourism has a role to play in the economic development of poor rural villages. They aim to ensure that their community-based itineraries bring a positive experience to local people and visitors and allow the local communities a greater level of control over the activities in their region. They support many sustainable community tourism activities, many of which we can arrange suitable visits to, and endeavours to take guests to remote areas to discover the real Cambodia.

Such initiatives include Artisans d’Angkor which promotes the sustainable development of Cambodian arts and crafts to benefit rural communities. The centre provides training to young Cambodians in traditional arts enabling them to make a living in their own villages. This initiative has helped to create over 1,000 jobs.

Another initiative supported is the Cambodia Landmine Museum, established by a former child soldier to promote awareness and education for tourists and locals on the ongoing problem with landmines. Over 100 people a year are still killed by unexploded landmines and many more injured. The facility also provides a home and school for children affected by mines and poverty.

In Siem Reap our local agents support the Hospital for Children which offers free healthcare to the regions children. The hospital regularly treats 300-500 children per day and is also committed to training health care professionals from around the country. Our local agents have donated equipment to the hospital.


NOTE FROM RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary is run by Wildlife Alliance, and all of the animals kept here have been rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. They are rehabilitated and released when possible, but unfortunately the physical or psychological harm they have suffered means that most will not be able to leave the sanctuary. There is one elephant who has been involved in performances – something which Responsible Travel does not usually support. However, in this case, the elephant has been trained using positive reinforcement methods, and is demonstrating how she carries out tasks. Training is necessary to ensure vets and handlers can treat her safely. As the sanctuary is carrying out extremely important work, and the overall impacts are positive for wildlife, we have decided in this case to continue to support Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary.