New ASEAN chief aims to break down borders
Boosting cross-border travel through the development of infrastructure and removal of red tape is the main focus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the regional bloc’s new secretary-general has said.
Speaking in an interview, Le Luong Minh said that tourism and transport development were crucial to the region’s overall economic and social development, and that processes are already in place to advance these areas.
On the issue of visa regulations, Minh said he recognised that a single tourist visa could “substantially benefit travel facilitation and tourism” in the ASEAN region.
“Significant progress was made by Thailand and Cambodia when they agreed to implement a single visa agreement,” Minh said. “Within the context of ACMECS (a sub-regional bloc comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) the idea of a common tourist visa is also enjoying broad support. ASEAN is working on easing visa requirements for ASEAN nationals and foreign tourists through the full implementation of the 2006 ASEAN Framework Agreement for Visa Exemption.”
He added that a working group had already been created to study a common ASEAN visa for non-ASEAN nationals.
In terms of physical cross-border transport, Minh said ASEAN is currently “completing the missing sections” of the Asia Highway Network, as well as developing a Framework Agreement on the Cross Border Transport of Passengers (CBTP).
“The intention of this agreement is to facilitate cross border road transport of people between and among ASEAN member states through the simplification and harmonisation of such transport procedures and requirements,” the secretary-general said. “With the conclusion of the agreement, we would expect much more seamless land travel, which, at the end, will further develop tourism in the region.”
The ASEAN region received more than 87 million international visitors in 2012, driven by a strong rise in intra-regional travel. ASEAN countries now receive 46% of their tourist arrivals from other ASEAN nations. This is likely to increase further in the coming years, with the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 and ASEAN ‘open skies’ aviation agreement, which will liberalise air traffic in the region.