Malaysia And Thailand To Collaborate Closer On Tourism

Malaysia and Thailand on Monday reinforced their commitment and needs to enhance cooperation in efforts to further boost tourism in both countries. The neighbours also expressed eagerness to collaborate closer and develop more tourism products that will benefit each other.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen told Malaysian reporters after calling on her Thai counterpart Chumpol Silapa-archa, at the latter's office, here Monday. One of the product that both countries agreed to jointly develop was railway tourism. Ng said Malaysia and Thailand can fully tap the potential of the well connected rail system which stretches from Johor in the South of Malaysia and all the way to Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand.

She said such initiatives were also inline with the spirit of Asean, which is aimed at achieving the vision of "One Asean, One Community, One Direction" by year 2015. Ng added that Malaysia was also confident with Thailand's international standing despite its uncertain internal affairs of late. She said the fact that Malaysia did not issue any travel ban for Malaysians to Thailand during the political unrest last April, was a testament of the strong friendship and confidence between Malaysia and Thailand. During the 30 minute meeting, the Tourism Minister who was on a working visit to the Kingdom, explained to Chumpol on the new ruling for Thai tourist vehicles to apply for Tourism Malaysia's permit, before entering Malaysia via the Malaysia-Thai border. Chumpol, in welcoming the initiative taken by Malaysia, said it would bring about positive impact to the industry as a whole. "This has been a very important development and I am glad that Tourism Malaysia had taken this step. On my part, I would certainly help to disseminate this information to our tour and travel agents," he said.

The new ruling, expected to take effect after the Aidilfitri celebration, requires all Thai tourist vehicles registered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), to apply for an entry permit from Tourism Malaysia, which can be applied online. Information on confirmed tour itinerary, identification of tourists and full insurance coverage are required before the issuance of the permit. Earlier, Ng had launched the Thai language website and brochures to specifically cater for the Thai market, with the tagline "It's All Here and Easy".

 The website www.sawasdeemalaysia.com and the bilingual brochures in Eng & Thai, offer Thai holiday seekers detailed information on travel to Malaysia, destinations and various holiday packages, while some packages start from as low as 4900 bahts. Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Datuk Husni Zai Yaacob and some 100 Thai industry players including tour operators, media and representatives from international airlines were among those who attended the event. Last year, 1.45 million Thai tourists visited Malaysia while 1.8 million Malaysian tourists toured the Kingdom.

Sourced=bernama