INBOUND tour operators in mainland South-east Asia are benefiting from cross-promotion of the Mekong subregion, according to delegates at last week’s International Tourism Expo in Ho Chi Minh City (ITE-HCMC).
The exhibition, which took place last Thursday through Saturday, featured the theme Five Countries, One Destination, highlighting cooperation between Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
According to Hoang Tich Hong Hai, accounts manager at SaigonTourist, travellers from Oceania, Europe and North America tend to visit more than one country in a single trip to South-east Asia.
“I sell many combined tours between two or three countries, for example, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos,” he said.
Syphone Keomanivong, an officer at the Laotian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, told TTG Asia e-Daily that a majority of travellers to Laos also visit neighbouring countries.
Keomanivong said the Laotian government cooperates closely with other tourism ministries, but feels that the private sector needs to work more closely with providers in other countries to develop new products.
Aye Thuzar Thant, deputy managing director of Interconnection Travels in Yangon, said Myanmar sees fewer multi-country visitors than the other four nations, in part because hotel prices there are higher.
“Myanmar is growing its (tourism) industry cautiously,” said Aye Thuzar Thant, as they want to avoid a mass-tourism crush similar to places such as Bali.
She added that “it is best if we can offer combined deals so Western clients can come to South-east Asia as a whole package.”
Reporting by Dave Fox
