Insight from an expat

Siem Reap gets the most foreign investment of all the provinces in Cambodia and it is also the poorest province in Cambodia. Siem Reap is a shining example of how tourism can be done wrong and does not help local people.

Agreed #1, it would be good to see organisations promoting tourism in other provinces in Cambodia, but then they would loose many of their home comforts...

mangoholic: Tourism in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh or wherever does bring work to hundreds of locals who would otherwise be unemployed. The fact that many of them are exploited, long hours/short pay, is not the fault of the tourists, but those who employ them, usually locals or Orientals.

No re-cycling in Siem Reap! Don't tell that to the street kids or the folks with the bin liner panniers attached to their bikes.!!! Im sure they'd feel insulted.

REP seems to have more Tex-mex restaurants than anywhere else. Exactly what is Khmer- tex-mex fusion?
Pub St was pretty wet last night so punters were rained in to whatever bar they could squeeze into.
None of the businesses are owned by genuine locals and that is the problem. The asset owners are just interested in prolonging the cash flow and turnover not in long term local development or investment. it's amazing how the whole place survives by milking foreign punters but that is not unique in SEA.

Frankly, I didn't find much insight; all of the "warnings" you proffer are profusely covered in all travel forums and travel guides. All of which leads me to believe that your main goal was to promote your so-called "co-working space." Fortunately however, the answers introduced topics worthy of consideration.

While I agree with poster #1, it does seem fair to balance with #3's observation that"The fact that many of them are exploited, long hours/short pay, is not the fault of the tourists, but those who employ them, usually locals or Orientals." And finally #4's final paragraph also includes elements of truth, "None of the businesses are owned by genuine locals...etc."

The failure of employers to pay a "living wage" is ubiquitous in Cambodia. Such wage slavery smacks of 19th century capitalism and is deplorable. There will be no solution to this problem until Cambodians in a position of power change their way of thinking-something that does not seem likely to happen soon. As I wrote in another post to #1 "Money is the new Buddha and has been for a while now." There is little, if anything at all the foreign visitor can do except remember kindly those who served you well and let it reflect in an appropriately generous gratuity.

Most businesses I know are owned by locals. They are usually also the ones that pay low salaries and exploit the staff as they can circumvent existing laws.

I very much doubt that SR is still the poorest province; plenty of money here. I just have to look at our staff parking lot. When the hotel opened 10 years ago, it was mostly pushbikes. Now the lot is full with motorbikes and cars.....

Yes, street kids taking the plastic, going to local depots (private), then they fill a truck who go to thailand.
They are not taking all the plastics and especially not outside of the town. I went myself cleaning at a floating village with a group of hundreds of volunteers (200 locals from the village as well), trust me, plastic is not recycled and goes into the fish bellies. There is NO garbage trucks who go there as well. Ok I am far from the topic of Siem Reap, but it's still in Siem Reap Province.

mangoholic: Tourism in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh or wherever does bring work to hundreds of locals who would otherwise be unemployed. The fact that many of them are exploited, long hours/short pay, is not the fault of the tourists, but those who employ them, usually locals or Orientals.

No re-cycling in Siem Reap! Don't tell that to the street kids or the folks with the bin liner panniers attached to their bikes.!!! Im sure they'd feel insulted.

You said is much covered everywhere but every 5 minutes I see a tourist going to buy powered milk. This is a VERY ACTIVE subject upon expats here and a rising results in scam in Cambodia Google Search for travellers who search before going. I am involved myself to find solutions with other people and the first thing is tourist awareness.

Siem Reap is beautiful town and tourism can help a lot, but as travellers, we need to know where our money goes.
There is many good business, local or foreigner owned that do really good thing and pay decent wages.

I am not a big poster in this forum and sorry if my writing style is not "a part of the top posters". Yes, I talk about my "so-called-business ?" and this is the real history of why I stopped here. I will not put links, but do the searches before judging my motivations.

Frankly, I didn't find much insight; all of the "warnings" you proffer are profusely covered in all travel forums and travel guides. All of which leads me to believe that your main goal was to promote your so-called "co-working space." Fortunately however, the answers introduced topics worthy of consideration.

While I agree with poster #1, it does seem fair to balance with #3's observation that"The fact that many of them are exploited, long hours/short pay, is not the fault of the tourists, but those who employ them, usually locals or Orientals." And finally #4's final paragraph also includes elements of truth, "None of the businesses are owned by genuine locals...etc."

The failure of employers to pay a "living wage" is ubiquitous in Cambodia. Such wage slavery smacks of 19th century capitalism and is deplorable. There will be no solution to this problem until Cambodians in a position of power change their way of thinking-something that does not seem likely to happen soon. As I wrote in another post to #1 "Money is the new Buddha and has been for a while now." There is little, if anything at all the foreign visitor can do except remember kindly those who served you well and let it reflect in an appropriately generous gratuity.

To clarify, I did not blame "tourists" but tourism, and the way it seems to be done in SR.

2 quotes out of Elizabeth Becker's Overbooked published in 2013 by Simon & Schuster about Cambodia:

"Tourism brings in $2 billion each year, but it enriches Cambodia's elite rather than helping the underprivileged. Poverty and unemployment is worse around tourist areas, especially Angkor."

"In the 1960s, before all the war and genocide, Siem Reap was the richest per capita province in the country, famous for its rice fields and fish. Today with its' multibillion-dollar tourism business it is the poorest per capita. The promise of tourism to raise the livelihoods of the poor has failed miserably in Siem Reap. The "leakage" of money out of the province is among the highest in the world, according ot Douglas Broderick, the UN resident coordinator in Phnom Penh."

Actually it was the late and legendary TT poster Henning who told me about SR being the poorest province, and he also worked in the tourism business in Cambodia. Everyone I know in Ban Lung has a scooter or car but they are still quite poor.

I am a supporter of grassroots ecotourism. Both the Virachey rangers and the indigenous guides get paid $15 per day on treks, which range from 3-14 days. I have not met one who was not happy to do this job. I am not sure how ecotourism works out in Mondulkiri or the Cardamoms.