Gov?t Cites Sites for Selling Tourist Visas Without Permission

24 Mar 2009 2124 | Cambodia Travel News

Fraudulent websites are selling Cambodian tourist visas and giving false information about the government?s online visa service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a statement Saturday.
The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mfaic.gov.kh, is the only authorized online vendor of travel visas, according to the statement, which did not go into detail about its allegations of fraud.

?It has been brought to the Ministry?s attention that there are [a] few fraudulent websites providing wrong information about Cambodia Visa Online?and some [are] offering Online Visa Service,? read the statement, which was posted on the ministry?s website.

The ministry pointed to three specific ?fraudulent? website: www.cambodiaonarrival.com, www.cambodiaevisa.com and www.welovecambodia.com.

No contract information was available Sunday for any of the operators of these sites, and neither Tourism Minister Thong Khon nor Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong could be reached for comment.

Ho Vanday, co-chair of government-private sector tourism working group, said he had not read the statement and had not heard of any fraudulent online vendors.
?I did not know about that,? he said. ?I will look into it.?

One of the websites named by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.cambodiaonarrival.com, looked similar to the government?s site when viewed Sunday and listed the same fees: $20 for a tourist visa plus a $5 processing cost. The site had a link to and in-site visa application form as well as a link to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? online visa service.

The other two sites were in the form of blogs when viewed Sunday, and had commentary encouraging travelers to buy tourist visas on arrival rather than via the Internet.

Cambodia has been selling tourist visas online since April 2006.
Kenneth Cramer, director of Canby Publications, which makes free, advertiser-supported travel guides to Cambodia, said he didn?t know of any fraudulent websites selling tourist visas.
?If there were some fraudulent websites out there doing something bogus, we?d probably put out a warning,? he said.

Sourced = Cambodia Daily