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Cambodia's tourism industry, which for years has seen double-digit growth, is now showing signs of slowing down as Thai visitors to the Kingdom decline, according to the latest government data.

The latest half-yearly report from the Ministry of Tourism shows arrivals totalled 2.2 million between January and June this year, up 5 per cent from the same period last year.

But the marginal rise bucks a year-on-year trend of increases ranging between 13 and 26 per cent as seen at the halfway point of every year from 2010 to 2013.

Kong Sophearak, director of the Ministry of Tourism’s statistics department, said the dampened growth has primarily stemmed from a decline in overland arrivals from Thailand over the past six months.
“Since the end of the global financial crisis, Cambodia has seen consistent double-digit increases in arrivals. But so far this year, that figure has fallen due to less people arriving from Thailand through the border gates,” he explained.

According to Sophearak, overland arrivals from Thailand to Cambodia through the Poipet border gate declined 23 per cent during the first half of the year, while air travel between the two nations continued to grow. In total, the number of Thai arrivals to Cambodia equalled 106,000, down more than 4 per cent from the same period last year.

“The political situation has dampened outward tourism to Cambodia. But from this point, I believe we will see tourism figures as a whole steady out to an end-of-year growth average of 8 per cent.”

Earlier this month, during a press tour of Thailand, Thawatchai Arunyik, the governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand told the Post that the long-standing political turmoil in Thailand had impacted the country’s tourism industry especially with regards to travellers venturing to Cambodia.

“We have to promote together as we are neighbours,” he said.

“In the past, we had promoted the two Kingdoms as one destination. People who come to Thailand, they don’t just stop in Thailand, they go on to visit Cambodia too.”

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Private and Public Sector Working Group, said he was confident tourism figures would recover in the second half of the year as Thailand recoups its own numbers, as Cambodia’s peak tourist season returns in October and as direct flights to Japan become available.

“This mid-year figure is not definitive of the end-of-year result. We have just been through the low season,” Vandy said, adding that direct flights to Japan from Cambodia were planned to start as early as.....

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http://phnompenhpost.com/business/touri ... -slow-rise

By Eddie Morton and May Kunmakara

I think it's a good chance for Cambodia to start to stand on their own for tourism now. They have the right stuff to make it happen, especially with the cleanup at the beaches (both metaphorical and literal... the other day they had 1 employee from every guesthouse attend a 'meeting' down at the beach... at which point they handed them all a trash bag and some gloves and put them to work for a few hours cleaning it up) going as well as it is, they have potential. The incoming Korean flights to snooky, the new domestica carrier to help people get around in the country... a lot of opportunity here for real independant tourism growth.

OrangeDragon wrote:the other day they had 1 employee from every guesthouse attend a 'meeting' down at the beach... at which point they handed them all a trash bag and some gloves and put them to work for a few hours cleaning it up).

That's cute. Perhaps someone could organise a tea-money meeting with one cop from every corner attending, and then have them seize at least one mobile phone from an idiot local who is texting while driving before they can log off for the day. Better yet, let the cops keep any mobiles they seize from locals who text/drive. While we're at it, let's have some sort of policy on smacking the little Scoopy bints that come out of a side street without looking (or more typically, deliberately driving straight into your personal space out of stupidity or perversity), as though their safety is your responsibility. /rant.

So, how was your day?!

it will never happen;
Cambodia is an add on country an will never be a final destination
take away Angkor Wat an what do u have to attract tourists?

Casinos?

phuketrichard wrote:it will never happen;
Cambodia is an add on country an will never be a final destination
take away Angkor Wat an what do u have to attract tourists?

Casinos?

yes, in fact there's plenty of asian tourists going in SR or PP for a weekend with AirAsia.

but as usual the khmers are shooting themselves in the foot.
25$ airpor tax, 25$ visa on arrival, dozens of tuktuks and mototaxis trying to scam tourists as soon as they leave the airport.

i'm not surprised, the khmer can't find their ass with both hands, it's a miracle this place is even still on the map.
this place could be like the French Riviera if the french were still here.

Why doesn't your gang pay the kid beggars per bag of beach trash after school ? I always thought that could make for a useful NGO for once.

some nut on Thavisa said TAT figures show a 50% decrease since the crackdown- I didn't bother to research it- but would not surprise me.

they have crippled their own economy - between the english teachers and the burmese and cambo labourers there is bound to be an impact.

even the dive businesses are hurting.

Drifter wrote: 25$ airpor tax.

This tax is included in the airline ticket prices now, and has been for several years, so it doesn't even factor into putting tourists off.

frank lee bent wrote:some nut on Thavisa said TAT figures show a 50% decrease since the crackdown- I didn't bother to research it- but would not surprise me.

they have crippled their own economy - between the english teachers and the burmese and cambo labourers there is bound to be an impact.

even the dive businesses are hurting.

HUH;
dive season on the west coast runs Oct-April so the crackdown would have had zero affect ( we will wait and see) but cant see how it would as all dive teachers/and most western dm have wp's. Diving in the bay sucks anyway

Burmese never left an Cambodians are all heading back

Its low season anyway and we need see what Nov brings

there are a bunch of divemasters crying on TV that they are done.
and i think not a few nominee style dive business owners too, the kind with fake thai partners..