Tourism

Tourism: An Essential Tool for Poverty Alleviation.

Tourism Opens Doors for Women

These phrases were printed on banners hanging across Kampuchea Krom and Mao Tse Toung Blvds. in Phnom Penh.

I’ve been thinking about these signs since I saw them last week. They were up in “celebration” of World Tourism Day (Sept. 27th). In the past few years, Cambodia has become a tourist destination. It helps that the temples of Angkor Wat were in the running to be one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. The country is a popular place for backpackers and “adventure” tourists, and it’s quite a bargain. Still, is tourism the way to move a developing nation into the developed world?

It seems like something out of “1984,” or some USSR propaganda campaign. The sentiment is strange to me: encourage foreign visitors who will… do what, exactly? Alleviate poverty how? Which doors will open for women? And what happens behind those same doors when they are closed?

What bothers me about these signs is that they seem to celebrate a kind of tourism that doesn’t exist. It assumes that money from tourist enterprises goes directly to people in need. Which, given the political structure in Cambodia, is not the case. Two popular tourist sites in Phnom Penh are Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choueng Ek “Killing Fields.” Each of these requires an entry fee. Where does the money from these sights end up? Certainly not in the hands of the families whose loved ones are buried at the Killing Fields. Those whose relatives were tortured at Tuol Sleng do not see any profit. Cambodia’s brutal history, this same genocide that is now open for tourist business, left many families without husbands, mothers, sisters, children. A generation later, would the individuals lost to that time be the ones to make a difference here? Would these be the people who would “open doors for women” and “alleviate poverty?”

Of course, I’m no economist, and I don’t know the best way to alleviate poverty or improve the status of women worldwide. I guess my protest here is against the hypocrisy of these statements. The women who benefit from tourism are the ones who work the market stalls selling Cambodia souvenirs. The ones who can study English and work in the hotels. And, lest I paint too nice of a picture, the women who work as prostitutes in the brothels and hotels that cater to tourists. The poverty that’s alleviated? It’s not the poverty that exists in the provinces, where the majority of Cambodia’s population lives. Bringing more foreigners to Cambodia doesn’t help the subsistence farmer grow more crops or increase the harvest.

I’m confused about what bringing more people to Cambodia will accomplish. What will they see? A bustling, dirty city and some ancient temples? Poverty and hunger, corruption and disease? Or will they experience a foreign city, interesting because it is different than home? Who gets exploited in the tourist scenario? Is it better to alleviate poverty and give women a chance when doing these things will change the way Cambodia is presented to the international audience? If it wasn’t so dusty, so poor, so exotic, would people still travel here?

The political motivations behind these banners are somewhat complicated, and too long to discuss here. I can understand why politicians would turn to tourism as a great hope for national improvement. After all, it’s a lot easier to invite people over and ask them to excuse your messy house than it is to actually clean up years of dirt, clutter, and disrepair. These banners might just be Cambodia’s way of asking for the international tourist community to participate in the housekeeping effort by putting a few dollars in the bucket by the front door. So, friends, hop on a plane and come visit me in Cambodia. In doing so, you’ll be alleviating poverty and opening doors for women. Doesn’t that make you feel better about the price of airfare?

In any case, allow me to wish you (a few days late) a Happy World Tourism Day!