Cambodia, Thailand join hands to promote "Two Kingdoms, One Destination" tourism

Cambodia and Thailand have joined hands to boost foreign and inter-ASEAN tourism under the " Two Kingdoms, One Destination" pact, local media reported on Friday.

Tith Chantha, secretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism, said Cambodia and Thailand have already created a single- visa option for tourists looking to explore both countries in one trip.

"Now, we're joining with Thailand to promote 'Two Kingdoms, One Destination.' It will make it much easier for tourists who don't want to visit only one country during their trip," he was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post newspaper as saying. "Thailand has a lot of airlines operating long-haul to Europe or the United States, we don't have many of those long flights, so we will benefit from this once the campaign kicks in."

Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports, Kobkran Wattanakvrangkul, told the Bangkok Post that the campaign would run from 2015 to 2017.

"The collaboration looks forward to exchanging foreign travelers and facilitating travel across both countries. The plan also promotes intra-ASEAN tourism," Kobkarn was quoted as saying.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Cambodian Tourism, welcomed the initiative. He said Cambodia had been cooperating with Thailand's tourism association since 2008.

"Now that this is being done on a governmental level, it will be a big boost because it will share benefits with both countries, " said he, adding "We have observed that we got more than 30 percent of (Cambodia's) tourists from Thailand since the promotion began."

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia received some 1. 3 million foreign tourists in the first quarter, a 3.1-percent increase from the 1.26 million tourists during the same period last year. Endi