CLMV minsters create blueprint

HO CHI MINH CITY, 11 September 2017: Four Mekong Region countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam attracted 22 million visits, last year, leaders of the CLMV tourism group reported on the sidelines of the International Travel Expo last Friday.

They were attending the 4th Meeting of Cambodia – Laos – Myanmar- Vietnam (CLMV) Tourism Ministers, held during ITE Ho Chi Minh City and concluded tourism was major driver for their economies.

The meeting was chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Ngoc Thien. Read more

Khiri Travel opens Hoi An office

Khiri Travel Vietnam has opened a new office in Hoi An, on the central coast of Vietnam to serve clients heading for the World Heritage resort.

Established 1 September, the office is the company’s third after Hoi Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Hoi An is best known for its trading quarter that stands at the estuary of river and the sea. Read more

THAI Smile returns to Luang Prabang

BANGKOK, 21 August 2017: Thai Smile says it will resume flights between Bangkok and Luang Prabang starting1 October.

Thai Smile launched flights to Luang Prabang in 2014 and halted them in 2016, without an announcement or explanation to passengers or the travel trade.

According to the airline’s website, the upcoming route will operate with four weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Read more

Floods continue in Northeast Thailand

BANGKOK, 7 August 2017: Last week’s heavy rain and floods in Northeast Thailand will cost the country around USD300 million in damage, while the Mekong River continues to flood  and overflow into rice fields in areas surrounding popular tourist towns.

At least 23 people died in flooding in the Northeast, last week and officials warn that as the rainy season progresses more flooding could be expected.

The country is about halfway through the rainy season, which has been particularly heavy this year and could continue to be so until late September. Read more

Myanmar lake named biosphere reserve

YANGON, 2 August 2017: Myanmar’s efforts to gain UNESCO recognition for natural and heritage sites sees the country’s largest freshwater lake designated a “Biosphere Reserve”.

It joins Inle Lake, in Shan State, which gained the same status from UNESCO in 2015.

Myanmar Tourism Marketing said the latest recognition would encourage efforts to gain World Heritage status for a number of sites around the country. Read more

Cambodia to link World Heritage

PHNOM PENH, 26 July 2017: Cambodia will develop heritage tourism packages now that it has three World Heritage sites under its belt.

The three World Heritage Sites are Angkor Wat, listed in 1992, Preah Vihear (2008) and the Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological site in Kampong Thom province listed earlier this month.

Khmer Times quoted Tourism Minister Thong Khon saying the addition of Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological site as a UNESCO world heritage would prompt new tour programmes. Read more

Duty of care at new heritage site

KAMPONG THOM, 20 July 2017: Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on the international committee responsible for preserving Angkor Wat to extend its cover to include the Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological site.

Khmer Times quoted Prime Minister Hun Sen saying the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) should broaden its remit to take care of the new world heritage site.

He said he had discussed the issue with Culture and Fine Arts Minister Phoeung Sakona and informed the King of the proposal. Read more

Cambodia gains UNESCO listing

KAMPONG THOM, 13 July 2017: The Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological site in Kampong Thom province was listed as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO late last week.

According to the UNESCO, the archaeological site was recognised along with Kulangsu, an international historic settlement in China and the historic city of Ahmadabad in India.

The archaeological site of Sambor Prei Kuk, “the temple in the richness of the forest” in the Khmer language, has been identified as Ishanapura, the capital of the Chenla Empire that flourished in the late sixth and early seventh centuries CE. Read more

Pagoda wants UNESCO recognition

YANGON, 12 July 2017: Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture will  propose that Shwedagon Pagoda apply for UNESCO World Heritage status for a listing possibly by 2020.

Global New Light of Myanmar reported that the Shwedagon Pagoda’s board of trustees, believe World Heritage status would draw more tourists to Yangon.

An estimated 300,000 tourists visited Shwedagon Pagoda during the past five months of 2017, according to official statistics from the Shwedagon Pagoda board of trustees. Read more

Angkor’s price is spot on

SIEM REAP, 5 July 2017: Ticket sale revenue earned from foreigners visiting Angkor Wat’s archaeological park reached USD52.1 during January to June, this year, up 66.8% when compared with the same period last year.

Xinhua News quoted figures released by Angkor Enterprise, the state-owned institution in charge of Angkor income management.

The report also claimed foreign visits to the World Heritage site rose 12.9% to 1.23 million visits during the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year. Read more

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