Tourism Cambodia Outshines Thailand in Race for Chinese Tourists

[Luuk Chaai]

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

  23 hours ago, blaze master said:     They're going to build casinos though.

 

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Look at what happened in Cambodia, when casinos were approved. Billions of dollars flowed in for construction money and then the next government outlawed them, same would happen in Thailand no doubt. 

 

AND ...........  Somebody will get rich in the process 

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

 

  23 hours ago, blaze master said:

 

They're going to build casinos though.

Look at what happened in Cambodia, when casinos were approved. Billions of dollars flowed in for construction money and then the next government outlawed them, same would happen in Thailand no doubt. 

[J Branche]

20 hours ago, pdc9 said:

the tourists will come again when the currency exchange is adjusted to the reality, cost of a trip to Thailand went up the last few years and the Baht exchange is stable and clearly overvalued by about 25% so after adjusting the rate the tourists will think again about Thailand

Did a little more digging.  It appears that somehow the Thai Baht is tied to Gold Prices to some degree and Thailand has a decent amount of Gold Reserves.  That makes little sense as China has 10X the Gold Reserves as Thailand.  The Yuan is down 10% against the Baht YOY.  Definitely sounds like currency manipulation and not tied to Gold Prices.

[pieeyed]

They have casinos

[JoseThailand]

On 5/29/2025 at 4:43 PM, snoop1130 said:

While Thailand grapples with dwindling numbers of Chinese visitors, attributed largely to negative press surrounding tourist scams and issues, Cambodia has adeptly positioned itself as a budget-friendly, hassle-free haven.

 

LMFAO

 

SCAMbodia is a well deserved name

[Tomtomtom69]

On 5/30/2025 at 10:56 AM, Srikcir said:

Thailand has a mixed economy with the major economic sectors being agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, service and natural resources. In 2022, the tourism sector directly contributed around 2.78% to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Thailand. 

In 2021 the economy of Thailand was dependent on exports, which accounted for about 58% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021.

Tourism is a low-value sector while exports (manufacturing, agriculture) are higher value sectors of the economy.

Thailand might better advance its economy by shifting part of its tourism industry through training, mechanization and industrialization aimed towards higher value sectors. But a decade of post-2013 Thai governments have seemed too often incapable of making such a commitment.

 

 

 

Without double checking your figures, I doubt those are correct. Not sure where you got them from, but keep in mind that because 2022 was still a Covid year, tourism revenue was more depressed than usual.

 

The first half of the year saw little tourism revenue as it was still beset with restrictions. The second half of the year finally saw some growth, particularly the last quarter, when all inbound restrictions were lifted (although there was a requirement to have health insurance for those heading onto countries such as China and India that remained in place until those two countries removed their PCR/antigen testing requirements roughly around quarter 2 of 2023). 

 

I think tourism probably contributed around 6-7% to GDP in 2022 (the 2% figure refers to 2021 from memory and would mostly have come from domestic sources as the country was closed). 

 

Do remember that in 2019, tourism contributed 21.6% to GDP (I recall that figure off the top of my head) and it's again rebounded to well above 10% since 2023.

 

You're right - the country does need to rely less on international tourism in particular. That stated, successive governments have learned nothing from Covid and continue to rely way too much on tourism, while letting manufacturing gradually self-destruct (except for the electric car sector).

[Tomtomtom69]

On 5/30/2025 at 11:12 AM, J Branche said:

Quote

"I do appreciate there are those of you sex pats whose life revolves around a condo, beer bar with your favourite bar stool and the company of young Thai prostitutes - yuck!!"

 

Throw in some Tennis, Massages, Traveling sounds like a pretty good life in moderation.  Condo with Seaview for cheap. Or you can go back West and be ignored pay $6 for an average quality beer, $25 for a nice meal, and $120 for your cable and internet, $1800 - $2000 no Seaview Condo.  Airlines treat you worse than cargo.

 

Living the dream in Thailand and looking forward to many more years

 

You'll easily pay US$6 (in Baht) for a terrible beer at a bar or restaurant here in Thailand. Thai beers suck and alcoholic beverages are pricey. 

[Tomtomtom69]

On 5/30/2025 at 4:29 PM, jingjai9 said:

I Think stories like this will really boost the incentive for Thailand to push through a casino bill. 

Also, I wonder if Cambodia is any safer nowadays? I recall when I went there years ago the tourist literature said, to be held up or robbed in Cambodia was not unusual. I also remember the manager of my hotel in Phenom Penh warning me that if I wanted a Tuk Tuk type vehicle to take me to bars, I should hire one that sits in front of the hotel and not flag one down at random. I think I stayed at the Outback if memory serves.There were stories that drivers would set you up so their friends could rob you.

There was also a bar named Heart of Darkness where a handful of  local, more wealthy young Cambodians whose fathers were government workers would frequent. They would wait for the foreigners to get good and drunk and then toy with them with guns. This was the feeling traveling in Cambodia in 2004- 2005. Would like to hear if things have changed. 

I also recall the bars staying open 24 hours a day.

 

Your information is WAY out of date! These days, Phnom Penh is roughly as safe as Bangkok is. I do remember that back in the 2003-2004 days (my first trip to Cambodia, beginning with Siem Reap was in 2003 and then Phnom Penh in 2004) there were these warnings you speak of. Already by 2010, the situation had improved considerably and since around 2013 or 14, PP could be described as being safe overall (some occasional stories of dodgy happenings along the riverfront very late at night but these seem to be decreasing). 

 

Unfortunately, that first trip to Siem Reap in 2003, I was the victim of a scam and theft. I was a naive young traveler back then. I hired a taxi to take me to Angkor Wat for US$10 for half a day on my first day. There I met an unlicensed guide, who tried to charge me a whopping US$30 a day! Now I did try to get rid of him, but he was quite insistent. I paid him maybe half and then he threatened me, telling me I needed to pay the rest.

 

I was running out of money and there were no ATMs in Cambodia at the time, so no way of me getting access to any more funds until I was back in Bangkok. I told him to come past my hotel at 11am on my last day (I left at 8am) and by that time I was already on the plane. I checked in my backpack, containing my camera. In an ironic twist, when I got to Bangkok, my camera with all my photos was missing from my bag. I think I made a report, and my insurance did pay me back. I don't know whether the theft happened at Siem Reap airport or Bangkok airport. Somehow, I suspect the former, but I'll never know for sure.

 

In 2011 I think it was, my motorcycle helmet, which I received from the motorcycle rental shop, was stolen from my dirt bike while parked in the underground parking lot of the Paragon Mall in Phnom Penh (a Thai owned mini-mall, that has long since gone out of business). They had a supermarket and Thai owned businesses such as Black Canyon. I didn't secure the helmet, so partially my fault, but the guard clearly didn't do his job. I then had to buy a similar helmet to replace the one that was stolen, for US$12.

 

However, I will say that these days, security and safety in Cambodia has VASTLY improved. I wouldn't necessarily walk around the unlit slum areas of Phnom Penh at night (nor would I do that in Bangkok) but I have never felt threatened or had anything untoward happen again since 2011. 

 

Bangkok overall remains quite safe but is probably slightly less safe than it was in 2004. What I mean by that is, the vast increase in tourists and expats since then, including many dodgy ones such as Nigerian drug dealers, who frequent Sukhumvit Soi 11, Chinese gangsters, Eastern European ATM skimmers and badly behaved foreigners in general, is what might make things feel a little less safe, particularly in the back alleys of lower Sukhumvit very late at night. You're still quite safe in well-lit areas and most Thai areas at any time of day or night. I wouldn't walk down Soi 11 after midnight with all them Nigerian drug dealers there. Without them, it would be safe, but it's them making it unsafe now. 

 

In any case, foreign government travel advisories usually have Thailand as "Exercise increased caution" while Cambodia is now firmly in the "Exercise normal precautions" category.

 

Basically, any increased recommendation of viligence in Cambodia pertains to Sihanoukville due to all the Chinese gangsters (although the online gambling ban sent most of them home just before Covid and thus the city is now MUCH safer than it was during the bad old 2017-2019 days), crazy traffic, lack of medical care in the countryside and warnings of unexploded mines, mainly along the northern border with Thailand as well as of course, recent skirmishes with Thailand. There may be some mention of the nightclub scenario you refer to, but to be honest, similar things can and do happen in Thailand in dodgy nightlife zones. I'd also advise against westerners hanging out in Thai bars, where you might quickly find yourself unwelcome or subject to a scam, especially if you don't speak Thai. Westerners need to stick to bars made for westerners. 

 

Government warnings about Thailand, aside from the above, also advise caution along the borderline with Cambodia, again, particularly between Buri Ram and the Lao border, near Chong Bok where the recent skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia occurred, due to the presence of land mines that extend up to 1-3km inside Thai territory along much of the northern border, border clashes as well as similar problems along the Burmese border due to insurgent activity on the Burmese side. Clashes between drug smugglers and Thai security forces are another issue in northern Thailand, which governments warn their citizens of. Then of course the southern insurgency (something that is no longer an issue in Cambodia since roughly 1998) and lots of problems, mainly between tourists and locals or among one another, in nightlife zones such as Bangla road in Phuket, Soi 6 and walking street in Pattaya, as well as a myriad of scams in many tourist areas.