Mainland Southeast Asia once ranked among the top tourist regions in the world, bolstering economies and employing millions, but a rot set in with the rise of authoritarian regimes and a preference for Chinese currency over and above all others.
COVID-19 dealt the final blow, as the Chinese visitors evacuated and governments were left scrambling to rebuild post-pandemic what was once an integral part of their economy.
Human trafficking, spawned from Cambodia’s abandoned casino industry, then grabbed the headlines and a coup d’etat in Myanmar only added to the atrocious image presented abroad.
In full: https://thediplomat.com/2023/09/chinese-tourists-have-good-reasons-not-to-return-to-southeast-asia/
