Responsible Travel Guide Cambodia: Improving Lives Through Thoughtful Travel Choices (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780975395127)

Responsible Travel Guide Cambodia provides tourists with the resources they need to have an enjoyable and meaningful vacation that helps local people.

Arranged by city, the selection of hotels offers options to suit everyone's comfort preferences and budget. These hotels support local humanitarian activities, protect children from sex-tourism, have environmental policies, are locally-owned, treat their staff well, and train or employ disadvantaged youth.

This guidebook includes restaurants that are training programs for former street children or are helping in other ways - such as supporting the arts. It offers a wonderful section of restaurants ranging from gourmet to vegetarian and from coffee shops to traditional Cambodian cuisine.

Responsible Travel Guide Cambodia lists high quality fair-trade craft shops that are training and employment programs that provide a new start for landmine survivors, battered women, and the rural poor. Shoppers can be sure the producer is getting a fair wage.

People wanting to volunteer will find opportunities at well-reputed non-profit organizations. This book explains the pitfalls and deception that volunteers and donors will want to be aware of. It also addresses the problem of begging children and sex-tourism and how caring tourists can help protect children.

This easy-to-use guide has detailed maps, good directions, itinerary suggestions, and helpful tips for travelers. It provides extensive background information about the Cambodian people, history, culture, religion and holidays.

Travelers who face the ethical challenge of vacationing in a place where most people cannot afford food or school tuition will put their minds at ease when they read this guidebook. Instead of feeling conflicted, travelers can feel good because they are making a positive difference in people's lives. Tourism is one of the biggest industries in Cambodia, yet the majority of the profits leave the country, going to foreign-owned corporate hotels, restaurants and tour companies. Middlemen reap the profits in souvenir shops. Travelers with a desire to give something back to the people of Cambodia will find all the information they need for making sure their vacation dollars are spent well.

Profits from the sale of this book support the humanitarian projects of Friendship with Cambodia. These include micro-credit programs for women and education for rural students living in poverty.