 Back to Luzi Matzig's Home
High flier up above
|
|
Luzi Matzig in TravelAsia
TravelAsia, April 26, 1996
By Yeoh Siew Hoon and Raini Hamdi, Pattaya
Visas, not safety, dominated discussions at the first Mekong Tourism
Forum held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Pattaya last week.
Tour operators attending the forum, held in conjunction
with the PATA Travel Mart, called for a single visa for tours
to the Mekong destinations, saying that was the only way to go
if tours were to be commercially viable and successful.
Kurt Bodmer of Japan & Orient Tours US, during
a question and answer session, said the visa issue could not be
just swept under the carpet but had to be tabled for serious discussion
by Mekong tourism authorities from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Vietnam and Yunnan province.
Thailand, it was acknowledged at the session, was
a natural gateway to the region, particularly the northern region
of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle where there
are now road links as well as direct flights to its Mekong neighbours.
Luzi Matzig, general manager of Diethelm Travel Thailand,
during his presentation on "Tours of the Mekong" said,
"Cooperation is needed to facilitate and ease customs and
immigration clearance at the various gateways. While the process
is relatively easy at main airports, there is still too much red
tape at the secondary border crossings.
"Take the Friendship Bridge between Laos and
Nong Khai - the bridge closes at 6pm. That places restrictions
on tour itineraries."
In a later interview, Matzig said a single visa would
be ideal although he acknowledged the difficulties in meeting
this goal. "I think this is a few years down the road but
Mekong destinations, if they are serious about positioning the
region as a single destination, must work towards this goal."
Olav Clemens, product manager of Studiosus Reisen,
the leading study tour operator to Asia from Germany, also called
for easing of visa formalities.
He said Studiosus was promoting a three-country Mekong
tour next year covering Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam but was encountering
difficulties as well as incurring high costs in just securing
visas. "It will take us four weeks to get the visas and we
have to pay Dm100 per visa per person."
Another tour operator, Dr Dieter Rumpf of Dr Rumpf
Touristik, also depended on permits for his planned new tour covering
the legendary Burma Road linking Myanmar to Southern China. Said
Dr Rumpf, "We will start to ask for special permits. It is
always my policy to be a pioneer in new areas and always, it is
never illegal.
"Security is never an issue. It is never dangerous
to bring groups to these places in Asia. What is an issue is permits,"
he added.
Japan Travel Bureau Asia managing director and regional
general manager Takashi Bessho said Mekong countries like Vietnam
and Myanmar were enjoying double increases in arrivals from Japan.
JTB would like to combine Mekong destinations but "we still
have problems crossing borders. It would be most attractive if
entry visas could be eased".
In his keynote address, Pakir Singh, secretary general
of the ASEAN Tourism Association, said that before Mekong could
be positioned as a single destination, there must be the political
will for the concept to work. He said the concept of ASEAN as
a single destination arose out of a political vision and thus
had the support at the highest levels of government.
|
Photos
Luzi Matzig in other news sources
