Cambodia, Viet Nam to join forces on raising tourist arrivals in both countries

Viet Nam and Cambodia are planning to work together more closely to increase the number of tourist arrivals in both countries, experts have said. The numbers of cruise ship travellers who visit the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia after visiting Viet Nam are very high, according to Le Dinh Tuan, chairman of the board of directors of Viet Excursions, which provides land tours for cruise guests.
"A cruise ship arriving in Viet Nam provides an average of nearly 100 guests who book tours to Cambodia and then return to Viet Nam to continue their voyage," Tuan said.
Because it takes only an hour to fly to Siem Reap from HCM City, tourists can return the next day instead of going on a trip to provinces in Cuu Long (Mekong Delta), which takes hours by bus.
One-day tours to Siem Reap from HCM City would attract more cruise ship guests if more evening flights opened, Tuan said.
The third highest group of foreign visitors to Angkor Wat, Japanese tourists, are increasingly choosing Viet Nam as the next destination after Cambodia, according to figures released by the APEX Cambodia Travel Service Company.
The number of Cambodian tourists to Viet Nam for sightseeing, shopping and medical check-ups and treatments is also on the rise.
Cambodia has shifted many tours from Thailand to Viet Nam because of the opening of many border gates between the two countries, medical travel and similarities between food and beverages between the two countries, according to He So Somara, secretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
With many international airports and international air routes to Viet Nam, foreign visitors can travel to Viet Nam and then fly or travel by road or waterways to Cambodia and return to Viet Nam to head home.
According to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, the number of Cambodian tourists traveling to Viet Nam soared by 147.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year against the same period last year.
The seat occupancy of five flights from Viet Nam to Cambodia every day reached 80 to 95 per cent in March, a representative of Vietnam Airlines said.
The HCM City-based Medic Medical Centre has in recent months received more than 100 patients from Cambodia for health check-ups and treatments every day, accounting for 10 per cent of the total number of patients registering at the centre, according to Dr Phan Thanh Hai, director of the centre.
Pham Quang Hung, director of the International Cooperation Department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, said that tourism authorities of Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam would jointly organise promotion programmes to tap potential markets during the International Travel Expo, which is scheduled to open in September 30 in HCM City.
A proposal for a single visa for Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam is being considered and will be submitted to the Government, Hung said.