Cambodia says no to sex tourists

Many of Cambodia's prostitutes are underage

Cambodia has marked World Tourism Day by declaring that it should no longer be seen as a destination for sex tourists.

"I would like to stress that Cambodia is definitely not a sex tourism country. Other countries can do whatever they like, but not here," Minister of Tourism Veng Seryvuth.

Angkor Wat: The most famous of Cambodia's temples

"We don't need nice glass rooms full of beautiful girls for tourists, because we have plenty of ancient temples for them to discover," he added.

Mr Veng said hotels, guesthouses, nightclubs and karaoke bars would soon be required to put up signs saying "No child sex tourism".

Business owners involved with the sex industry would also have their license withdrawn, he added.

Mr Veng was addressing a gathering of government officials, hoteliers, and tourism agencies in the capital Phnom Penh.

A recent report by the charity World Vision said many senior officials and tour operators in Cambodia were actively involved in the promotion of sex tourism.

The charity said the majority of ministry officials it had contacted had said they "had no intention to be involved in action against child sex tourism".

Paedophiles

Cambodia has acquired an image as a safe haven for paedophiles in recent years.

Sex tourism is growing in Cambodia

The courts have been accused of mishandling a string of cases and there have been several cases of alleged offenders buying their way out of detention while awaiting trial.

But Cambodian officials said earlier this month they would blacklist sex tourism suspects even if found innocent by the courts.

The list will be distributed to Cambodian embassies overseas and at all border-crossing points.

In the first seven months of this year, 28,973 tourists arrived in Cambodia by air compared with 22,810 in the same period of 1999.