Member
states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are striving for a
goal to allow international tourists to travel freely between the countries
with a single visa, in an effort to boost tourism.
Using a
joint visa for all ASEAN member nations would require a thorough process and
should be first applied to a group of countries, according to experts.
ASEAN is
a political and economic organization whose members include Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam.
The
single-visa idea was first put forward at the International Tourism Expo (ITE),
organized in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007, as the hosts proposed issuing a joint
visa for visitors to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
In
September 2013, tourism ministers from the three Indochinese countries, along
with Thailand and Myanmar, sat down and discussed measures to simplify
paperwork for tourists entering the five nations.
Prior to
the meeting, Cambodia and Thailand had pioneered the solution since December
2012, granting joint visas to travelers from 25 countries across the world.
Visitors
could register for a 30-day pass at either of the two countries’ embassies and
then would be free to explore the two nations.
During an
interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Thong Khon, Cambodian Minister of
Tourism, stated that visitors to Thailand still outnumber those to Cambodia due
to the former’s strengths in terms of attractions and infrastructure.
Such
differences should not affect the interests that the Cambodian economy and
people could benefit from any possible cooperation with Thailand, the minister
asserted.
Beyond tourist sector’s control
Vietnam
has not been able to set up a joint visa with any nations in the bloc as such
cooperation cannot be decided by the tourist sector alone but requires
coordination among relevant agencies, Nguyen Van Tuan, general director of the
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), explained.
“Former
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung previously tasked the Ministry of Culture,
Sports, and Tourism, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs with considering the issue of a joint visa with Thailand and
Cambodia,” Tuan said.
According
to Le Tuan Anh, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department
under the VNAT, the application of a common visa would increase the number of
tourists to the bloc.
“The lack
of such type of admission is a huge obstacle to regional tourism and should be
removed,” Anh said.
As each
nation has its own vision and objective, the members need to be more proactive
to reach an agreement in order to provide tourists with the best conditions,
the official added.
Nguyen
Quoc Ky, general director of the Viettravel tourist company, tourists tend to
combine many destinations in one journey, which would be easier to undertake
with a joint visa.
If
Vietnam does not catch up with the new trend, local tourism will fall behind,
Ky warned.
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