Five ASEAN countries target 50 million int’l tourists

Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam are expecting to attract 50 million international tourists in 2015, and their tourism administrations are preparing an agreement to be signed early next month to implement the plan.
Hoang Thi Diep, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the target of 50 million international tourists in 2015 is 10.5% higher than the combined number for this year. Besides, the five countries want to boost intra-ASEAN tourism, aiming to have ten million tourists traveling between the countries by 2015, or up 12.5%.
“Five tourism ministers will sign the agreement to promote their images together, simplify traveling procedures and connect tourism products. We are discussing contents of the agreement,” Diep said.
One key aim of this cooperation agreement is to simplify entry procedures, which is important for attracting international tourists to the region.
“Cambodia and Thailand have cooperated, enabling tourists from 35 countries and territories to use a single visa when visiting the two countries. In the forthcoming meeting, we will push forth the single visa plan to facilitate international tourists when visiting the region,” she said.
As Thailand and Cambodia have been offering a single visa, Vietnam also wants to join the scheme to attract more tourists. Besides, many enterprises and management agencies have many times requested the tourism body to loosen the visa policy for international tourists.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies have recently been asked to consider the plan of offering a single visa in connection with Thailand and Cambodia..