New Direct Routes Between Cambodia And Japan

Prime Minister Hun Sen says Japan will introduce direct flights to and from Cambodia this year, a move that should boost trade, investment and tourism between the two nations.

The PM told local media that the flights should be introduced over the next six months.

An agreement was also inked last December between Cambodia and Japan that eases visa requirements for passport holders from both countries.

According to Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), no memorandum of understanding had been signed on flights, but it is most likely that Japan’s national flag carrier, Japan Airlines, would be the first to fly.

The Ministry of Tourism reported Cambodia received 165,359 Japanese tourists in the first 10 months of 2013 increasing 15.8% from 142,812 during the same period of 2012.

Japan’s direct investment in Cambodia reached about US$47.5 million in 2013, compared to US$328 million in 2012, a US$280 million drop, according to figures provided by the Japanese embassy in Phnom Penh.

Effective 11 December last year, Japanese and Cambodian passport holders were eligible for long-term and multiple-entry visas for a period of one to three years. The application criteria for long-term and multiple-entry visas will be decided independently.

Diplomatic passport holders were also granted an automatic 30-day visa stay in Cambodia and Japan.

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Vietnam And Thailand Establish Cooperation

Vietnam’s Danang City and Thailand’s Khon Kaen province recently signed a Letter of Intent to establish cooperation in tourism, education, culture, investment and trade.

The coorperation was inked 16 January to encourage both destinations to improve competitiveness.

Danang, located in the central region of Vietnam, and Khon Kaen in the centre of Northeast Thailand are on the East-West Economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

They have seen modest trade exchanges in previous years. Their export-import turnover was about US$31.2 million in 2012. Only one company from Thailand has so far invested in Danang and three enterprises have opened representative offices.

Danang University also officially included the Thai language in its curriculum in 2006.

Danang welcomed 3.1 million tourists last year, of which 750,000 were foreigners. Only 45,000 tourists from Thailand visited the central city and other destinations in the central region.

Khon Kaen is a major commercial town on the main highway and rail line linking Bangkok and Vientiane the capital of Laos.  At the heart of the northeast region it is known for its universities, commerce and agricultural trade.

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Laos - from a landlocked to a landlinked country

Landlocked Laos is fast turning into land-linked after the newest bridge over the Mekong River separating the country from Thailand opened last month and plans for railway links begin to take shape.

The director general marketing, Saly Phimphinith, said the newest Mekong River Bridge linking Chiang Rai province in Thailand and Huay Xai in Laos would accelerate tourism growth in Northern provinces bringing more tourists from China and Thailand.

The road bridge opened in mid-December 2013 linking highways in Chiang Rai province with the R3A route north to Luang Namtha, and Yunnan province in China.

Already there is a steady stream of container trucks plying the R3A route to transport Chinese exports from Kunming to northern Laos and all the way to the Laem Chabang seaport on the Gulf of Thailand.

Tourism is expanding, too, with Chinese bus tours from Yunnan and private cars visiting Laos and North Thailand.

The deputy director also noted that an agreement had been reached with China to build a rail line from Luang Namtha, in the far north of Laos, all the way to the Vientiane and the border with Thailand via the World Heritage town of Luang Prabang.

It would merge with rail lines in China to Kunming and would eventually be part of a high-speed rail network covering Thailand south to Malaysia.

Malaysia investors recently agreed to build a 220 km rail line from Savannakhet in central Laos to the border with Vietnam where it would merge with Vietnam’s rail system to coastal towns in the central region including Danang.

In the west the line would end at the Mekong River border town of Savannakhet that faces the Thai town of Mukdahan. Cost of the project is estimated at M$5 billion and will not be completed until 2020. The Lao PDR government has already approved a plan to expand the airport at Vientiane with a new international terminal. A new terminal at Luang Prabang, the country’s most popular destination, was completed last year.

Laos attracted an estimated 3.7 million tourists, last year, of which 91% came from Asia. The top market was Thailand, followed by Vietnam, China, South Korea and the United States.

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