Tourism Sectors Play Important Role in Ensuring Child Safe Tourism

As Cambodia expects to welcome 8 million tourists by 2020, this rapid growth of tourist arrivals raises concerns about how to ensure that local children are only positively impacted by tourism.

Having seen the important role of tourism officials in protecting children from sexual abuse, World Vision, in cooperation with Ministry of Tourism, conducts Training of Trainers (ToT) on Child Safe Tourism with 55 officials from 25 municipalities and provinces on August 27&28, 2014. The two-day training equips the officials with a higher capacity to combat sexual abuse and exploitation of children in travel and tourism in Cambodia.

Mr. Jason Evans, National Director of World Vision says that the Child Safe Tourism training and toolkits will equip and empower government officials to positively influence their relevant stakeholders in the involved in tourism such as tourism sector operators, community representatives, parents, care-givers and children, by sharing with them very practical lessons and advice that will be easy to put into practice.

“The more the government officials share this information, the more we can ensure that Cambodia’s children are protected from sexual abuse,” says Mr. Evans.

His Excellency Hor Sarun, Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Tourism, and Chairman of the Child Safe Tourism Committee says that the training is a good opportunity for each official to discuss the challenges surrounding the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls and boys in Cambodia. This way, we can come up with better action plan in the future to combat those issues.

“Through ongoing Child Safe Tourism training and activities, officials are better equipped to protect children and ensure that they are kept safe” says His Excellency, adding that “Together, let’s make Cambodia a great place for responsible tourists.”