Hun Sen shoots down free-visa plan

Monday, 9 July 2012 07:33

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday shot down calls for a free visa system for all ASEAN + 3 nations. 

The proposal would have included the ASEAN nations as well as China, Japan and South Korea.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon made the proposal during a Tourism Ministry meeting at the Chaktomok Conference Hall in Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian government has already produced a framework on free visas for all ASEAN nations other than Brunei and Myanmar. 

Questions remain over how Cambodia will deal with the "+3" countries in terms of visa status.

The Prime Minister said that if Cambodia could come to a reciprocal agreement with the three regional neighbours, he would okay the plan.

Revenue from visas would diminish, forcing the tourism sector to drain the national revenue, Hun Sen said.

The amount of revenue that would be lost from a free ASEAN + 3 visa system would not be small, he said.

In fact, Hun Sen said, a free visa system for the "+ 3" nations could end up costing Cambodia millions of dollars in revenue.

Thong Khon could not be reached for comment.

The ASEAN + 3 nations were countries with large populations, and offering them a free-visa system when they did not offer one in return would result in a loss of revenue, Ang Kim Eang, president of Cambodia’s Association of Travel and Agents, said.

The number of tourists from ASEAN + 3 sharply increased. 

Tourists from Korea rose 35.2 per cent, supplying the second-largest number of tourists to Cambodia after Vietnam.

Source: Phnom Penh Post 05 July 2012