Myanmar joins bandwagon for common Asean visa
Play
Ministers and tourism authorities of Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines have expressed their intention to facilitate travel in the region by developing a common smart visa system.
Together, they yesterday signed the “Statement of Intent on SMART Visa” at the 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia.
“By signing this letter of intent, ministers and tourism authorities agree to work hand-in-hand for the implementation of this system, whose objective will be that of eliminating those barriers to the movement of tourists which are currently creating disincentives to travel. Such objectives will be achieved in close coordination with the governmental entities in each of their respective countries,” said U Htay Aung, Union Minister of Hotels and Tourism of Myanmar.
The statement of intent forms part of joint efforts to improve growth of the national and regional travel and tourism sectors along with social integration.
More specifically, ministers of tourism have agreed to collaborate on working towards the Asean Common Visa initiative as called upon by leaders at the 2011 Asean Summit in Jakarta. It also builds on the single visa scheme for tourist travel between Cambodia and Thailand, which was implemented on January 1. Progressive relaxation and an Asean common visa would also benefit non-Asean nationals who intend to visit the Asean countries.
“Considering that tourism is a priority sector under the Asean Economic Community and that it constitutes a significant contribution to the integration of Asean countries, it is important to be ‘smart’ about visa facilitation for travel,” said Mari Elka Pangestu, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia.
In line with the experience of other countries and regions, it is expected that Asean countries will also experience the positive impact of implementing a smart visa on the growth of the tourism sector, increased investments in the travel and tourism industry, and job creation.
“By recognising the importance of the connectivity in tourism activities, the statement of intent expresses our desire to give a boost to the tourism sector by facilitating the movement of tourists across borders; by going towards a smart visa through adopting best practices; and by maximising the use of technology to reduce the inefficiencies of the traditional visa application process,” said Ramon R Jimenez Jr, Secretary of Tourism of the Philippines.
The statement of intent was signed during the WEF’s Travel & Tourism meeting held yesterday under the theme “Building Myanmar’s Travel & Tourism Industry: Driving Growth and Job Creation”.
