Lookout! Here come the Chineses!

[Rutiger]

I would recommend Khmer students to concentrate much less on learning English and learn the two main Chinese languages instead. This trend will only increase.

Chinese tourists to Cambodia up 24% in 2015
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2016-03-07
PHNOM PENH - Cambodia attracted some 694,712 Chinese tourists last year, up 24 percent year-on-year, accounting for 14.5 percent of the total international visitors to the country last year, said a report from the Tourism Ministry Monday.

China ranked the second largest source of tourists to Cambodia last year after Vietnam, the report said.

Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, attributed the increase in Chinese visitors to Cambodia to excellent ties between Cambodia and China and many direct flights between the two countries.

"Moreover, Cambodia has a lot of attractive tourism resorts, especially the Angkor archaeological park," he told Xinhua.

Cambodia sees China as a key market for its fast-growing tourism industry. In January, the Southeast Asian country released a white paper, aiming to attract roughly 2 million Chinese tourists by 2020.

The white paper lists steps to be taken by the tourism authorities to facilitate visits by Chinese tourists, such as providing Chinese signage and documents for visa processing, encouraging local use of the Chinese yuan currency, and ensuring that food and accommodation facilities are suited to Chinese tastes.

Cambodia is famous for its Angkor archaeological park, a world heritage site, in northwest Siem Reap province. Besides, it has a 450-km pristine coastline, which is one of the World's Most Beautiful Bays.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2 ... 770715.htm

[jessy101]

I wanted to study Chinese since I was young but I end up with English.

[TheGrinchSR]

It's good news for bus companies, big hotels and big restaurants - as Chinese folks tend to travel on fully inclusive package deals (subsidized ones - they are then dragged to a bunch of over-priced souvenir shops and pressured to buy tons of crap to make up for that subsidy - in Hong Kong a woman died of a heart attack after being screamed at on a bus tour of the island for not buying over-priced jewelry - these package trips are now illegal in Hong Kong but in Cambodia who cares if there a few heart attacks? It's the price of progress, right?).

Unfortunately the sequestered nature of this kind of tourism has very few "knock on" benefits to most people in the tourist trade and tends to enable the Chinese tourist to behave as badly as they would at home. It's the price of progress, right?

[Rutiger]

I wanted to study Chinese since I was young but I end up with English.

It's ovbvious he majority of jobs and business opportunities going forward for Cambodians are going to be driven by the Chinese investment and demand. Don't get left behind.

[TheGrinchSR]

I wanted to study Chinese since I was young but I end up with English.

English is far more useful than Mandarin in the global economy. It's why there are more Chinese learning English than there are people living in the United States at the moment.

[qinjingyou]

I wanted to study Chinese since I was young but I end up with English.

Never too late. There are lots of people you can talk with.

[Rutiger]

Cambodia is not a player in the global economy by any stretch of the imagination and never will be. The country is becoming more and more practically a poor, distant province of China. English language proficiency will be as useful to Cambodians going forward as it has been for French language proficiency....a waste of effort.

[Sailorman]

And they are coming here to work and get around the laws in China. In the compound behind my house there are 10 houses rented to Chinese with 6 to a two bedroom house. I hear they work at the "new" casino at the unfinished marine on Hawaii beach. Word is its something to do with internet gambling or scams.

[TheGrinchSR]

Cambodia is not a player in the global economy by any stretch of the imagination and never will be. The country is becoming more and more practically a poor, distant province of China. English language proficiency will be as useful to Cambodians going forward as it has been for French language proficiency....a waste of effort.

You are so incredibly wrong. Cambodia is a part of ASEAN and free labour movement within ASEAN is going to be a real thing. A Khmer hotel staff member that speaks flawless English can work anywhere in ASEAN even if they don't speak the local language, for example. One who speaks Mandarin can work in a hotel in Cambodia that serves Chinese people (for much less money).

English language proficiency is the only game in town when it comes to learning a second language. It's why the Chinese are so focused on achieving such proficiency. There can be only one lingua franca and while it may upset the French... that language is English. The language of trade, travel, communications, etc.

[juansweetpotato]

It's good news for bus companies, big hotels and big restaurants - as Chinese folks tend to travel on fully inclusive package deals (subsidized ones - they are then dragged to a bunch of over-priced souvenir shops and pressured to buy tons of crap to make up for that subsidy - in Hong Kong a woman died of a heart attack after being screamed at on a bus tour of the island for not buying over-priced jewelry - these package trips are now illegal in Hong Kong but in Cambodia who cares if there a few heart attacks? It's the price of progress, right?).

This^

Plus. This

Despite their relatively small population, Chinese Cambodians are over represented in some of the most visible aspects of Cambodian society, often leading to feelings ranging from resentment to outright discrimination by "pure" Khmers. Chinese Cambodians play leading roles in the Cambodian business sector as well as within Cambodia's political scene. Chinese Cambodians also have a considerable presence in the Cambodian economy and are estimated to own a vast share of it.[3] Many Chinese Cambodians are particularly influential in the Cambodian banking sector where money-lending and shopkeeping enterprises are prevalent. Of particular note is China's economic role in the country which encouraged Sino-Khmer businessmen to reestablish their past businesses which were once suppressed by the Khmer Rouge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Cambodian

Most of the people I work with can speak Chinese already (Mandarin). The rest are attempting to learn it. The OP's advice is too late.