Published: November 21, 2017 at 19:05
Tourists take pictures at Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. Cambodia and Myanmar plan to promote the temples of Angkor and the ancient city of Bagan. (Photo by Bangkok Post)
Cambodia and Myanmar have signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate domestic and third-country tourist visits to the Angkor temples in Siem Reap and the ancient city of Bagan in Myanmar.
The agreement was signed by Tourism Minister Thong Khon and Myanmar Hotels and Tourism Minister Aung Maung on the sidelines of the inaugural Cambodia International Travel Mart (CTM) in Siem Reap on Saturday. khmer times reported Tuesday.
Tith Chantha, secretary of state at the Ministry of Tourism, said the MoU aims to strengthen and promote tourism cooperation between the two countries and facilitate tourist flows between Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as from third countries.
“The focus of the MOU is to create a single tourism destination, Angkor-Bagan, to attract tourists to the region for the benefit of both countries,” Chantha said.
“We will also try to establish direct flights from Bagan to Siem Reap.
“Furthermore, both parties will promote education and professional development in the industry, as well as information and experience exchange between the private and public sectors of the two countries, especially in cultural tourism,” he added.
He Wandi, secretary-general of the Cambodian National Tourism Federation, welcomed the agreement, which he said could expand Cambodia’s tourism market.
“This will increase the number of tourists traveling between the two countries.
“It’s a good development model for tourism, similar to what we already have in Thailand,” Wandy said.
According to the latest report from Angkor Enterprise, in the first 10 months of this year, Angkor Archaeological Park’s ticket revenue reached US$84 million, a 71% increase from the same period last year.
In the first nine months of 2017, Cambodia received 3.5 million international tourists, a year-on-year increase of 12%.
