Vietnam’s Kon Tum province and Thailand’s Ubonratchathani province are
cooperating in developing a road tour linking localities in the two
countries and Laos via Bo Y border gate, the Saigon Times Daily
reported.
Leaders of the two provinces have agreed that the new
route going through eight provinces of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand will
be launched next year. Their agreement also covers favourable conditions
for easy transportation of passengers and goods in the three nations.
The
Daily quoted Nguyen Xuan Truyen, Deputy Director of the Kon Tum
Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as saying that the province’s
tourism sector wanted the road tour to become a regularly scheduled
itinerary of travel agencies rather than a product only offered by them.
Truyen
said Kon Tum province and relevant agencies of Laos will discuss
further tourism cooperation after reaching an agreement with Thailand.
Currently,
tourism cars run smoothly between Laos and Thailand, but they must be
escorted when entering Vietnam via Bo Y border gate as regulated for
right-hand drive vehicles. “If travel conditions are made simpler,
tourism may grow strongly,” Truyen said.
Truyen said after the
authorities of Kon Tum province and Ubonratchathani province clinched a
cooperation agreement, companies of both countries will partner to
develop the route connecting the three countries.
However, some
travel firms suggested the National Highway 14 be upgraded if Kon Tum
province wanted to develop land routes connecting Bo Y border gate.
Previously, many travel agencies arranged tours for their guests to
travel from Ho Chi Minh City on National Highway 14 to Bo Y border gate
and Champasack province in Laos and go further. But, they had to cancel
these tours due to the highway deteriorating.-VNA