“One journey, three destinations” - promoting the friendship between Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia

The tour to explore the three countries of Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia promises to be an attractive tour with great potential. In addition to the tourism, cultural and economic values, this is also an activity that contributes to promoting the friendly cooperation between the three countries in the region.

Connect to tap into potential

"Exploring the Indochina Heritage with wonderful destinations in the three countries of Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia is one of my memorable experiences. Enjoying the feeling of discovering many lands, wandering on new roads with many different regional cultures. And blending with the gong, the panpipe, the soft and graceful Lam Vong melody that captivates people's hearts, as if inviting, as if holding the footsteps of tourists who have set foot in these hospitable lands, they do not want to leave. Visiting with my own eyes the Hue Monuments, the world cultural heritage Watphu (Champasak, Laos), the wonder of Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia), the ancient bridge Kompongkdey, the royal palace and the Silver Pagoda (Capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia), I admire the talent and wonderful soul of the ancients even more. Through the trip, I am even more proud of my homeland Vietnam, of the land of Indochina, one of the cradles of world civilization" - that is the sharing of Ms. Tran Van Anh (Long Bien, Hanoi) after participating in the tour "Journey to discover Indochina heritage" organized by a Vietnamese tourism company.

Hue Imperial City - one of the notable destinations of Vietnam in the tour "Journey to discover Indochina heritage". (Photo: Vo Thanh)

According to Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Tourism Association, the tour to explore the three countries of Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia with the theme "Three countries - One destination" or the journey "Discovering Indochina heritage" has always been a favorite destination for tourists from Western Europe and North America... for many years. In these markets, the majority of tourists come from France. Because the three Indochina countries were once French colonies, in addition to older tourists, many young people come to learn about history and want to heal the wounds of war that they left in the three countries. Notably, in recent years, this tour has been a favorite destination for many tourists from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In terms of attractiveness, the tour to explore the three countries of Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia has both similarities and differences to complement and build attractive tours. Vietnam has great potential for sea tourism with world-famous long beaches, fine white sand, heritages recognized by UNESCO such as Ha Long Bay, My Son relic site, Hoi An ancient town, Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, Hue royal court music, Central Highlands gong culture. Cambodia is the land of ancient temples in the Angkor complex, as well as attractive cultural sites in the capital Phnom Penh and beaches in Sihanoukville province with full and perfect tourism services. Laos is considered the land of pagodas and towers with 1,400 pagodas, a complex of hundreds of statues cast according to Buddhist stories. In addition, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are close neighboring countries, with long-standing traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation in many fields, especially tourism. The countries have exempted visas for tourists who are citizens of the three countries to travel to each other. Currently, air and road routes connecting major cities of the three countries are convenient for tourism links. This contributes to creating reasonable prices for tours between the three countries.

Angkor Wat is a famous heritage site of Cambodia that attracts many tourists. (Photo: Roma Lim)

Promoting shared prosperity

Although the number of tourists between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia has increased significantly in recent times, the growth rate is not really commensurate with the potential. One of the main reasons is the road infrastructure when it takes a long time to travel, the air infrastructure can only accommodate small planes; infrastructure investment projects such as hotels, resorts, restaurants as well as tourism human resources are still lacking and weak... In order to promote the tourism industry, create more jobs for society and generate foreign currency, in November 2020, the Tourism Development Plan for the Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos Development Triangle Area for the period of 2021 - 2025, with a vision to 2030, was approved at the Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia Summit. Accordingly, the three countries will cooperate to develop a common border area including 5 provinces of Vietnam: Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Binh Phuoc along with provinces of Laos and Cambodia. Currently, tourist destinations that meet national standards have been renovated, upgraded, and signs installed along connecting routes between regions, connecting with neighboring countries to facilitate tourism activities. "The plan focuses on infrastructure investment activities, developing common tourism products, promoting common promotion... to promote regional prosperity, develop tourism, develop trade... thereby hoping to make regional tourism develop sustainably, becoming an attractive destination of the world", said Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Tourism. According to tourism experts, with today's development and integration, tourism requires inter-regional connections, not only domestically but also internationally. Therefore, focusing on developing the "Three countries - One destination" tour to create a series of attractive and quality products is not only a suitable direction but also promotes traditional friendship, contributing to the development of culture, socio-economy, especially in border areas and ethnic minorities.