The Problem With Chinese Tourists...
Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 7:25 pm
Cambodia
‘They only go to Chinese shops’: why Cambodia’s influx of mainland tourists is causing tensions
More than 1.27 million Chinese tourists visited the country in the first eight months of 2018, a 72 per cent increase over the same period in 2017
But locals say Chinese-owned businesses are benefiting most from the surge
By Logan Connor
2 Jan 2019
More than 1.27 million Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in the first eight months of 2018, a 72 per cent increase on the same period in 2017. But not all local business owners are happy.
In Siem Reap, the tourism hub and launching point for trips to the famous Angkor Wat temple complex, some are quick to lament the shift towards a market based mostly on Chinese visitors.
Channy Murphy, owner of Mad Murphy’s Irish Pub – a one-room bar situated not far from Siem Reap’s famous Pub Street – said she has seen her mostly Western clientele slowly disappear.
Throughout the early 2000s, Cambodia’s top markets for tourism were dominated by Western countries, with the US, France and the UK ranking near the top. Now, these nationalities have largely been supplanted by visitors from countries like South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
Last year, Cambodia hosted upwards of 5 million tourists and the industry accounted for 32.4 per cent of the country’s GDP. It has plans to increase the number of visitors to 12 million by 2025.
When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the capital Phnom Penh last January, he and Prime Minister HE discussed how to get more Chinese tourists to visit Cambodia.
Murphy said that in her experience, Chinese tourists tend to stay in tour groups and rarely stray too far from the beaten path.
“They book from the hotel … everything is organised,” she said, “so they never walk out [from the tours].”
Bill Laurance, an ecologist at James Cook University in Australia who has written extensively about China’s ambitions abroad, agreed that Chinese tourists have a tendency to insulate themselves from local businesses.
“In my experience Chinese tourists do show a strong tendency to favour Chinese-owned-and-run businesses, be they restaurants, hotels, tourist shops, or tour businesses,” he said. “When operating overseas, Chinese companies also prefer to hire Chinese nationals as employees whenever possible, rather than employing local residents.”
Instead of money from tourism filtering down to native Cambodians, it stays concentrated in the hands of Chinese-owned businesses, Laurance said.
Him Samnang, a tour guide at Angkor Focus Travel in Siem Reap, said Chinese guests tend to stick to hotels and restaurants run by those of the same nationality.
“Most of them, they go to Chinese [businesses], because they have Chinese owners,” he said. “They don’t often go to Cambodian [businesses].”
Chhay Sivlin, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, attributed this favouring of Chinese-owned businesses to the language barrier and government policy.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/ ... d-tourists
‘They only go to Chinese shops’: why Cambodia’s influx of mainland tourists is causing tensions
More than 1.27 million Chinese tourists visited the country in the first eight months of 2018, a 72 per cent increase over the same period in 2017
But locals say Chinese-owned businesses are benefiting most from the surge
By Logan Connor
2 Jan 2019
More than 1.27 million Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in the first eight months of 2018, a 72 per cent increase on the same period in 2017. But not all local business owners are happy.
In Siem Reap, the tourism hub and launching point for trips to the famous Angkor Wat temple complex, some are quick to lament the shift towards a market based mostly on Chinese visitors.
Channy Murphy, owner of Mad Murphy’s Irish Pub – a one-room bar situated not far from Siem Reap’s famous Pub Street – said she has seen her mostly Western clientele slowly disappear.
Throughout the early 2000s, Cambodia’s top markets for tourism were dominated by Western countries, with the US, France and the UK ranking near the top. Now, these nationalities have largely been supplanted by visitors from countries like South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
Last year, Cambodia hosted upwards of 5 million tourists and the industry accounted for 32.4 per cent of the country’s GDP. It has plans to increase the number of visitors to 12 million by 2025.
When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the capital Phnom Penh last January, he and Prime Minister HE discussed how to get more Chinese tourists to visit Cambodia.
Murphy said that in her experience, Chinese tourists tend to stay in tour groups and rarely stray too far from the beaten path.
“They book from the hotel … everything is organised,” she said, “so they never walk out [from the tours].”
Bill Laurance, an ecologist at James Cook University in Australia who has written extensively about China’s ambitions abroad, agreed that Chinese tourists have a tendency to insulate themselves from local businesses.
“In my experience Chinese tourists do show a strong tendency to favour Chinese-owned-and-run businesses, be they restaurants, hotels, tourist shops, or tour businesses,” he said. “When operating overseas, Chinese companies also prefer to hire Chinese nationals as employees whenever possible, rather than employing local residents.”
Instead of money from tourism filtering down to native Cambodians, it stays concentrated in the hands of Chinese-owned businesses, Laurance said.
Him Samnang, a tour guide at Angkor Focus Travel in Siem Reap, said Chinese guests tend to stick to hotels and restaurants run by those of the same nationality.
“Most of them, they go to Chinese [businesses], because they have Chinese owners,” he said. “They don’t often go to Cambodian [businesses].”
Chhay Sivlin, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, attributed this favouring of Chinese-owned businesses to the language barrier and government policy.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/ ... d-tourists
