Second Trilateral Meeting on the Southern Tourism Corridor, Cambodia – Thailand – Vietnam

Delegations from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as from the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office gathered in Cambodia during the second Trilateral Meeting on the Southern Tourism Corridor discussing the tourism product of Southern Tourism Corridor, STC. The meeting aimed to identify the provinces to be included in the boundary of the Southern Tourism Corridor, to develop products of the three involved countries (Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam) on the STC destination, to cooperate on facilitation of travel and border crossing, and to promote the STC as a tourism destination through joint marketing activities.

 
During the meeting the Minister of Tourism of Cambodia Dr. Thong Khon, gave interview to international media explaining the tourism product of Cambodia, and the meaning of development of a new product called Southern Tourism Corridor, that starts from Thailand and ends in Vietnam passing the sea costal area of Cambodia. The Cambodia coast tourism zone attracts not only Thai tourists to Cambodia, but also tourists from the whole area of Southeastern Asia. "Peaceful environment is the big assets of Cambodian tourism", he stressed.

 
“Tourists are coming to Cambodia to relax. Last year, 73% of all international arrivals were from the Asia Pacific region, 20% from Europe, and 7% from Africa. Our visitors from Europe are mainly from United Kingdom, France, and Germany, but we have some from Italy, and Spain. In 2014, the arrivals from UK rose 24% compared to 2014, as a result of our participation to the World Travel Market in London every year. Also, we participate to ITB in Berlin, and to BIT in Milan in order to attract more tourists. Although, there is no direct connection flight to Phnom Pen, our capital, tourists are coming to Cambodia via Bangkok or via other main cities. They like our product that focuses on eco-tourism like the Angkor Wat as well as to relax. Our aim is to develop tourism in our country, and to achieve the creation of 1 million jobs by 2020”, he stated.

 
Cambodia presented the tourism situation in STC mentioning that Cambodian tourism focuses on Culture and Nature. The Cambodian delegation named 5 provinces to be included in the STC project, Koh Kong Province, Preh Sihanouk Province, Preh Province, Kampot Province, Kep Province, and Takeo Province. The infrastructure in the area is good as there are an international Airport, a Sea port, and international roads, as well as hotels, and restaurants. Also, the area boasts a national park, many temples, waterfalls, coral and marine parks, and opportunities for sea activities, trekking, biking, and bird watching.

 
Thailand identified Chonburi Province with Pattaya, an already famous tourism destination, with a great variety of accommodation, cultural shows, beach activities, and national and theme parks. Also, the delegation named Chantaburi Province an agro-tourism destination. Chantaburi is famous for tasteful tropical fruits and seafood, stunning waterfalls, relaxed coastal activities. Also, it is very rich in culture with numerous temples, churches, and Shrines, offering a distinctive cultural blend. The final Province was Trat, an area 315 kilometers from Bangkok near the Cambodian borders, boasting 52 islands.

 
Vietnam named Kien Giang Province, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City, Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, and An Giang Province because they are tourism destinations with easy accessibility. These provinces are rich in tourism resources and many tourism projects are currently in developing stage. For future cooperation, the Vietnamese delegations proposed a mechanism with frequent meetings, join tourism products and promotion including fam and press trips, as well as encouragement for participation of the private sector. Finally, they proposed cooperation with Vietnamtourism, a famous travel agent in Vietnam, based in HaNoi.

 
Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office put first, the question of the infrastructure that must be examined and developed, secondly, the product development procedure that must include all the facilities a tourist needs in a tourism destination, such as accommodation, restaurants, attractions etc and finally, the issue of the promotion to source markets, and the profile of the potential tourist, so the product of STC to be ready for selling.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia