The Vietnam-Cambodia visa exemption for ordinary passport holders which comes into effect today will create more opportunity for tourism, local travel agents say.

“The number of tourists from Vietnam to Cambodia will rise about 30 percent as agencies and travelers can now save time and money for visa application at the border gates,” My said.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai from Fiditourist Co. said the company is planning to increase tours to Cambodia from two to three or four per week in 2009.

“If the plan is realized, the number of our customers traveling to Cambodia will double,” Mai said.

Sapaco Tourist also announced plans to increase bus tours between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh from 10 to 14 trips a day, while trips from HCMC to Siem Reap would run daily.

Regarding Cambodian visitors, My said the number would only rise slightly as the neighboring government’s procedures make it difficult for their citizens to obtain ordinary passports.

Many travel agencies in HCMC had previously operated four-day tours by bus to Cambodia at an average price of US$210-220, including visa application fees, while Vietnamese citizens had to spend $20 to apply for a visa to enter Cambodia prior to the exemption pact.

According to the agreement signed in Hanoi on November 4 by Vietnamese Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung and Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, citizens of both countries with ordinary passports valid for at least six months can stay in the visited destination for up to 14 days without a visa.

Reported by Mai Phuong