Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Written by Chun Sophal
The Phnom Penh Post
Tourism authorities hope to double the number of Chinese visits within the next two years
CAMBODIA is hoping to lure more Chinese visitors in the wake of crippling anti-government protests in Thailand and falling arrivals from Western countries hit by the global financial crisis, tourism officials told the Post Monday.
Tourism Minister Thong Khon said that China is a growing tourism market and that officials plan to double the number of Chinese visitors by the end of 2009.
China is the fifth-largest market after Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the United States, with 10,776 visiting Cambodia in the first 10 months of 2008, according to Tourism Ministry figures.
An April 2008 report by the ministry said that 6.4 percent of the total number of tourists to Cambodia in the first four months of the year were Chinese.
In 2007, Cambodia received a 94,374 Chinese tourists out of a total of 2,015,128 visitors, according to the ministry.
"We plan to attract a large number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia in 2009, and step -by-step we will double the number to keep the tourism industry strong," Thong Khon said.
"We expect that a lot of Chinese tourists will visit Cambodia soon if there are more flights than before ... and plan to advertise to attract Chinese tourists through CCTV1 television," he added.
"Through this plan, we expect that big Chinese airline companies will increase their activity, too."
There are currently four air routes between Cambodia and China, including from Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Thong Khon said.
Ho Vandy, chairman of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, said the ministry's plan might help attract more Chinese tourists.
He added, however, that he does not expect the numbers to increase dramatically until 2010.
"I think the ministry's plan to attract Chinese tourists to Cambodia is a golden opportunity because China is warning their people not to visit Thailand, which is under turmoil," Ho Vandy said.
According to an evaluation by the World Tour Organisation, in 2020, China will get 100 million international visitors, while the country will also provide 100 million visitors to countries in the region.
Lao Heng, chairman of VLK Tour Company, said that an increase in Chinese tourism would help offset declining visitors from the US and Europe.
"I think we should not depend on only European tourists," he told the Post.
"We had better look at regional tourists because our people need food to eat."
CAMBODIA is hoping to lure more Chinese visitors in the wake of crippling anti-government protests in Thailand and falling arrivals from Western countries hit by the global financial crisis, tourism officials told the Post Monday.
Tourism Minister Thong Khon said that China is a growing tourism market and that officials plan to double the number of Chinese visitors by the end of 2009.
China is the fifth-largest market after Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the United States, with 10,776 visiting Cambodia in the first 10 months of 2008, according to Tourism Ministry figures.
An April 2008 report by the ministry said that 6.4 percent of the total number of tourists to Cambodia in the first four months of the year were Chinese.
In 2007, Cambodia received a 94,374 Chinese tourists out of a total of 2,015,128 visitors, according to the ministry.
"We plan to attract a large number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia in 2009, and step -by-step we will double the number to keep the tourism industry strong," Thong Khon said.
"We expect that a lot of Chinese tourists will visit Cambodia soon if there are more flights than before ... and plan to advertise to attract Chinese tourists through CCTV1 television," he added.
"Through this plan, we expect that big Chinese airline companies will increase their activity, too."
There are currently four air routes between Cambodia and China, including from Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Thong Khon said.
Ho Vandy, chairman of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, said the ministry's plan might help attract more Chinese tourists.
He added, however, that he does not expect the numbers to increase dramatically until 2010.
"I think the ministry's plan to attract Chinese tourists to Cambodia is a golden opportunity because China is warning their people not to visit Thailand, which is under turmoil," Ho Vandy said.
According to an evaluation by the World Tour Organisation, in 2020, China will get 100 million international visitors, while the country will also provide 100 million visitors to countries in the region.
Lao Heng, chairman of VLK Tour Company, said that an increase in Chinese tourism would help offset declining visitors from the US and Europe.
"I think we should not depend on only European tourists," he told the Post.
"We had better look at regional tourists because our people need food to eat."
16 comments:
Great idea of the Royal Gouvermen.
This is great news. We don't need the white men to come and prey on our women and children. When the white men come to screw our women, they look down at our people. They always drug the prostitutes to get them to do weird things. They would take their pictures and post them on the internet. They would write shit about how they are superior to Asians and other races, since they can go anywhere and fuck anyone they like. We don't want those evil bastards in our country.
how the hell the chinese can rescue us, esp when these chinese don't have sufficient money to feed themselves during this financial turmoil
i doubt it if it will double
11:47 PM - You're misinformed. Chinese is not undergoing a financial crisis. It's economy will be expanding at a rate of 7.5% despite the world crisis.
China will be the world #1 economic power soon. The Chinese are smarter than white people. They will again regain world supremecy.
f*ck chinese. China would isolate from the globalization. China is not in system. I better join with the western. While they are hitted by financial crisis, we should be in. This is good.
China is rich alone while everywhere poor? then it will be china's turn sooner.
Folks, why arguing on who is the richest or strongest? The question that should asked is who has the long term interest in our country. Right now, it looks like China. That's why we should lean toward China. Having said that, we can also be friend to both of them at the same time. It is quite doable. Nothing wrong with that.
1:50 AM, your attitude is objectionable. China does not have any national debt. USA on the other hand has $10 trillion debt (that's $10,000,000,000,000), and $2 trillion of that is owed to China. That's why Uncle Sam is so afraid of China because China can cause the US to go bankrupt at any time by redeeming its shard of US Treasury notes. The US national debt will eventually cripple its economy. Retirees will not get their social security and pensions. This is a huge problem for the US down the road. I think China will clearly be the world's economic superpower in about 20 to 30 years.
And let's not forget that China is Cambodia's biggest defense against the Yuons. Chinese and Yuons don't get along. Closer ties between Cambodia and China will make the Yuons think twice about swallowing our land.
America on the other hand is a close ally with the Siams. The U.S. won't attack the Siams even if they invade us. In a recent comment the US Ambassador to Cambodia told us to make concessions to the Siams to maintain peace.
If you love Srok Khmer and do not want to see it swallowed by the Yuons or the Siams, you'd better make friends with China; otherwise, you will stand alone.
Thanks for the info. 3:41AM & 3:47AM.
China country is rich and amongst the powerful countries but 85% of its people are no better off than Cambodia. They live in a crowded house and eat tofu. When they visit other countries they don't spend at all. They're very stingy.
You rip off the Westerns but not the Chinese.
no better off than Cambodian I mean.
to 3:47 a.m.
Have you ever thought why Chinese gov rescued us? Look at recent activities b/w Cambodian gov and Chinese gov. Don't you think they want to use their excessive money to buy our country sooner or later in the form of loan? If you think that China can make US bankrupt b/c of the 2 trillion (give me the source) debt owed to china; then what can Cambodian gov do to repay the loan? Don't forget that USA is capable of production while Cambodia imports everything even the fishes Cambodian people are eating right now (as I know the fishes are from Vietnam). Think twice! no one is good to Cambodia!
some friends here have got wrong image of present China. I've spent 5 years in the midle country. Nothing that scary you idiots, you're far more stupid than Hun Xen if you still maintain it. 21st century is the Century of Asia.
I can understand why many Khmer people resent the Chinese, but the truth is, Cambodia is a sheep surrounded by a hungry tiger (Siam and a hungry crocodile (Youn), and they're both backed by very powerful nations, Thailand by America and West and Vietnam by Russia. Cambodia could either side with the third superpower, China, or risk getting eaten by the tiger and the crocodile. So, this is not a matter of loving the West or hating the Chinese; it's about survival, and we must be very clever if we are to survive.
everybody has allies, so what's the big fuss if cambodia wants china. we want the west, too, but if they don't want us, so sorry, we, khmer people can't wait for the west forever. we see things differently because we are cambodia. please get used to it!
hey, even china is changed a lot; there are a lot of rich millionaires, billionaire chinese people. they can help cambodia just like the west can. god bless cambodia.
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