Thailand, Cambodia discuss facilitating tourism
Talks held after approval of ‘6 Countries, 1 Destination’ initiative
Dusit Menapunt and Chayika Wongnapajan, advisers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with Huot Hak, Cambodian minister of tourism, to discuss facilitating tourism, including border crossings and seamless travel.
This follows the Thai government's approval of a tourism and economic-promotion policy under the "6 Countries, 1 Destination" initiative, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Cambodia was chosen as the first country to initiate negotiations under this policy.
The meeting with Cambodia came after the leaders of both countries recognised the importance of advancing this initiative.
The advisory team expedited the presentation of plans and schedules to demonstrate readiness to receive tourists, with a focus on the linkage between Thailand and Cambodia, particularly in immigration procedures.
They proposed identifying target countries and territories that both Thailand and Cambodia see as having potential, which would benefit from visa exemption rights and the use of visas on arrival (VOA) in both countries, including the implementation of fast lanes.
The possibility of Thailand collaborating with neighbouring ASEAN countries to attract tourists from different regions under this policy was also discussed.
Furthermore, they discussed joint tourism promotion to establish the identity of a "single tourism destination" among the six countries and the development of human resources in the tourism industry.
They also emphasised strengthening private-sector collaboration in tourism by creating tourism routes connecting World Heritage sites, organising a regional tourism calendar to align major festivals, and hosting events to present benefits, including knowledge exchange between human resources in the tourism sector.
Additionally, they explored improving transportation connectivity to expand travel options for tourists by land, water, rail and air.
Huot Hak agreed with the "6 Countries, 1 Destination" policy and will discuss and coordinate with relevant Cambodian agencies before submitting the proposal for approval by the Cambodian cabinet. The aim is to begin implementing the policy before Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s official visit to Cambodia.
