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Cambodia’s casino tourism allures 1 million Chinese tourists in 2018

Saturday, September 15, 2018

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Cambodia-casino-tourismChinese tourism is booming in Cambodia and in the first seven months of 2018, over 1 million Chinese tourists traveled to the Southeast Asian nation, representing growth of 72.6 percent year-on-year.

 

This massive growth has been fueled by increasingly close ties between Phnom Penh and Beijing and the billions of dollars in Chinese investments that have come along with them.

 

 

Much of this investment has been to promote China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a Chinese-led plan to promote the development Eurasian and African commercial infrastructure, but Cambodia’s tourism industry has also been a major recipient of Chinese investment.

 

 

Of course, these projects are still in their early stages, but Chinese investment has already been hugely transformative for Cambodia’s tourism industry. Sihankoukville, which had been a beach destination for Western tourists, has dramatically shifted to catering to Chinese tourists. But the city’s draw for Chinese travelers is not its coastline, but rather casinos.

 

 

The 42 registered casinos in the city, with many more unregistered, cater almost exclusively to Chinese tourists and often employ substantial numbers of Chinese staff. The result of this investment has been an increase of prices for rent and property across the board, pushing many Cambodian tourism companies and employees out of the Sihankoukville market altogether.

 

 

The casinos in China are also shaping up to be a backbone of Phnom Penh’s tourism industry. NagaWorld reported 80 percent growth in revenue in 2017 compared to 2016, with gross profit rising to $472.9 million.

 

Nonetheless, while the massive amounts of investment being funneled into Cambodia will undoubtedly help buoy economic development, it also comes with strings attached. Fifty percent of Cambodia’s external debt is held by Chinese creditors and developers, and Chinese firms enjoy decades long-leases on land, all of which sparks fears that China is simply buying influence in the country.

 

 

Such concerns over Chinese development through the BRI have been addressed by other nations. Malaysia recently halted billions in development projects funded by Chinese companies in light of the 1MDB corruption scandal that ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak. With Cambodian Prime Minister HunSen’s power in the country only strengthening, it is unlikely that Chinese investment in the country will encounter a similar fate as it has in Malaysia.

 

 

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