ASEAN visa initatives : Cambodia and Thailand
23rd, December '07
Foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand signed an
agreement last week to allow foreign tourists to enter
either country on a single visa. The move is an effort
to streamline tourism to the region. If this proves
successful, it may also be adopted by Laos, Vietnam and
Myanmar. If that occurs, a traveler could visit all five
countries on one visa. The signing moves the project
along, but other regulations must be put in place before
the plan is implemented, and a date has not been set.
Travel & Visa : Thailand and its neighbors
Dec 26, 07
By Stéphane Hanot | Dec 26, 2007
BANGKOK, Thailand (eTN) - It took two years of
negotiations since the announcement to implement a
common visa valid for both Thailand and Cambodia; there
was not a lot to be heard about progress between both
countries. Late last week, Thailand’s foreign affairs
minister finally went to Phnom Penh to sign with its
Cambodian counterpart the agreement for the
implementation of the common visa. Cambodia/Thailand
common visa will then be available to travelers from the
first quarter of 2008 with modalities on the price set
up and about the validity of the visa.
Such an initiative will, however, only be of limited
interest for all countries already benefiting of the
free visa-on-arrival facility to Thailand. The price for
a double Cambodia/Thailand visa will undoubtly be higher
than a single visa to Cambodia, currently available for
US$20. Why would then travelers pay more? The new visa
would only be of any benefit for travelers who are still
requested to get a Thai visa or for long-stay travelers
in Thailand, as the visa on arrival is valid only for a
month. Long-stay travelers can for the time being
receive a single visa valid for three months which
expires once tourists leave the kingdom. The new visa
could then provide the possibility to stay longer and
then re-enter Thailand without asking for a new single
visa. Details should be provided by next month, once the
new-elected Thai government will be in place.
The visa is an initiative within the Mekong Sub-region.
If the formula proves successful, the common visa could
then be expanded step by step to Laos, Vietnam and
Myanmar. Then, such a multi-country visa would gain a
broad interest from foreign travellers.
As a major gateway, Thailand looks to improve its access
to its neighbours. We look at two recent examples of
policy favoring the country as a gateway to the rest of
Southeast Asia. The opening of a new official border
checkpoint between Kelantan and Southern Thailand on
December 21 is unlikely to make both regions cooperating
more in terms of tourism, as violence continues to
plague Thailand’s three Muslim-dominated Southern
provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
Despite unabated violence in Southern Thailand and now
massive flooding in the region, Malaysia and Thailand
hope to give a strong signal of their commitment to
enhance their cooperation with the opening of a new
bridge between the districts of Jeli (Kelantan,
Malaysia) and Waeng (Narathiwat province) this coming
Thursday. The new bridge will then become the third
official international checkpoint between both countries
and complement the existing border checkpoints in Rantau
Panjang/Sungei Kolok as well as in Pengkalan Kubor/Tak
Bai.
Attempts were made a decade ago to develop some common
heritage and cultural products, especially by favoring
religious tourism. Sultanate of Pattani is home to one
of the most famous Buddhist Chinese temple, a highly
veneered site among Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese.
But above all, Pattani occupies a special place in
Malay’s psyche. It used to be the spiritual center of
Malay culture with universities and religious schools.
It is also there that the Koran was translated into
Malay language for the first time. The once-mighty
sultanate has also the oldest mosque in the region, the
Kru Se Mosque.
But little contacts exist today in tourism. “It is
almost impossible to encourage tourism in Southern
Thailand because of the daily violence,” explained
outgoing Tourism Minister Suvit Yodmani. “We can only
try to promote local tourism with some sport events
between the Youth living in the three provinces.”
On the Kelantan side, Haji Mohd Arif, manager of the
state’s Information Center, confesses that he had no
contact for a long time. Looking at the number of Thai
and Malaysian crossing each other borders, it is true
that tourist flows look to only going one way: in 2006,
Kelantan recorded 800,000 arrivals from Thai citizens.
And in 2007, the number is up by 100 percent with total
arrivals expected to reach 1.6 million. However, foreign
tourism to Southern Thailand is collapsing. A bomb
explosion two years ago in the border town of Sungei
Kolok, a very popular “entertainment” destination, sent
jitters among Malaysian travelers, which represent 90
percent of all arrivals. In 2006, total arrivals to
Sungei Kolok declined by 20.4 percent to 236,000 with
Malaysians representing alone 203,000 visitors.
Kelantan has launched a comprehensive plan for tourism
development including the set-up of integrated tourism
resorts. A first small-scale resort exists already in
Pantai Sri Tujoh, just three kilometers away from the
border to Thailand in Pengkalan Kubor. A vast project
foresees the development in Tumpat, where Kelantan’s
largest Thai community lives.
“We are looking now for partners but this project is the
most ambitious to date as it will integrate deluxe
hotels, a marina, a shopping centre and a cultural
village,” said Haji Mohd Arif. In 2008, Kelantan will
launch its “visit year” campaign, hoping to bring more
awareness to the destination, which remains rather a
transit point for many travelers. “Our objective is to
increase the total length of stay to three nights from
1.7 today. We will increase our promotion at
international shows such as ITB and WTM and will receive
a budget of US$ 550,000, up by 70 percent over 2007. We
target 1.2 real tourists by next year with an emphasis
on travellers from the UK, Germany and the Middle East,”
added Arif.
Kelantan’s objective is for it to be more perceived as
an authentic destination where visitors will be able to
get a glimpse of Malay life through handicraft, culture
and cuisine.
Asian
travelers intent on exploring the attractions of
Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, but who have been loath to
deal with visa hassles can now make their dream come
true.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) signed Tuesday (July 25) a visa
exemption treaty which, if ratified by all the
countries, would allow citizens to enter and stay in
territories of the 10-member grouping for a maximum 14
days.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Combined with
growing affluence in many of the 10 member states, as
well as an era of cheap air travel), drafted the
agreement which will allow two-week visa-free entry for
ASEAN nationals travelling within the bloc is expected
to have a real impact.
The agreement will take effect once it is ratified by
all 10 member countries. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Southeast Asian governments have long promoted closer
integration of the region of 500 million people as a
vital initiative to remain economically relevant as the
long shadow of regional power China looms.
ASEAN countries recorded 51.39 million visitor arrivals
in 2005, 45 percent of whom were from other nations
within the bloc, Abad told AFP.
"It's good because everybody is committed to it and it's
harder to get out of the agreement," Severino said. "If
it's on a bilateral basis, it's easier to get rid of
it."
Severino also said that Myanmar's move to become part of
the agreement indicated a change in policy in that
country, which tightly controls the movements of its
citizens as well as incoming foreigners.
"That's a political decision on their part. If indeed
they are in the same status as the rest of ASEAN, then
it is a policy change that they have undertaken."
Source : AFP, Yahoo!News
A Single Visa for ASEAN?
ASEANTA Aims for Single Visas Valid for 10
Member-Countries by 2009.
(11/13/2004) The ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA)
comprised of member tourism organization from the
10-member nations of ASEAN, is busy lobbying their
respective governments to adopt a policy of a single
visa valid for all ten countries as a critical step of
turning ASEAN into a single tourism destination.
According to ASEANTA's Vice-President, Elly Hutabarat,
the idea of a single ASEAN visa has received widespread
support from the governments of the association but has
encountered problems in moves towards the actual
implementation of the measure due to the varying
immigration and visa policies among the 10 countries.
To facilitate the change ASEANTA has set a target
deadline date of 2009 for introduction of the new
"one-visa" policy. But, according to Hutabarat, the
commencement date could be accelerated by ASEAN during a
coming Ministerial meeting.
Smart Cards
ASEANTA - in addition to their efforts to introduce a
single ASEAN visa are also actively working for
passport-free-travel by citizens of ASEAN nations
traveling between member countries of the association.
Under this scheme, passports would be replaced by a
ASEAN Identity Card or Smart Card that would allow full
freedom of movement within the 10-member region.
Source : balidiscovery.com
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