Single visa for ASEAN resurfaces
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As tourism ministers and the travel trade from the ASEAN region gather this week for their annual meetings and business event, the call for a single visa for the region has resurfaced.
Malaysia said it would lobby with other ASEAN countries to adopt a single visa policy valid for all the 10 member states despite Myanmar’s reluctance and security concerns of other countries like Indonesia.
Arriving in Bangkok, the venue for ATF 2008, Malaysia’s Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was quoted saying that he hoped the matter would be taken up at the leaders’ level.
He said while Malaysia has been pushing for the policy since 2002.
“Single visa will allow long-haul travellers to move around the region without much hassle. They usually come for two or three weeks and prefer to travel to more than one country,” he was quoted saying.
Tengku Adnan also said the US-imposed sanction on Myanmar also complicates matters as long-haul travellers include those from the US and Europe.
He added that Myanmar has yet to enforce visa-free travel to ASEAN citizens despite all member states signing a visa exemption treaty last year.
The Minister also expressed disappointment with the lack of progress in undertaking joint promotions of the region.
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