Sihanoukville ferries raise fares

SIHANOUKVILLE Sihanoukville authorities have introduced a USD20 standard fare for companies ferrying tourists between the city and the coastal islands of Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem to curb a price war among ferry operators.

Local media quoted the City Hall dispatch that ordered companies to raise their roundtrip fares that were  as low as USD10 to USD12 to a flat USD20, from 1 December.

However, authorities later agreed to give the ferry companies one more month to correct their fares following feedback that the deadline was too close.

The province’s governor, Yun Min, said the USD20 fare would help to maintain the quality of the services.

“We need to clearly set the price in order to avoid unfair competition,” he added.

Of the USD20 fare, City Hall will take USD3 to pay for beach maintenance.

Sihanoukville is a coastal province in Cambodia and home to the country’s main on the Gulf of Thailand.

More than 1.5 million tourists visited Sihanoukville province, last year, up more than 14% over 2014, but of that 1 million were domestic visitors. Apart from the beaches, there are 17 casinos in town that attract mainly Chinese tourists.