Southeast Asia to have visa on lines of Schengen visa in EU

The tourism industry of Southeast Asia is looking at toeing the line of Schengen visa by having a similar single visa for the entire region notwithstanding differences between the nations in it. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which is a political-economic union for 10 countries, is home to a population of 645.8 million, much larger than the European Union. It now seeks a single visa policy along the lines of the EU. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, was quoted by Skift as saying that progress was already taking place on a single visa proposal for Southeast Asian countries and it could be ready by late 2017 or 2018. She said that they plan to have it between Cambodia and Thailand first. Some countries, however, are not reciprocating with Thailand, said Wattanavrangkul. With 104 million international tourists arriving in Southeast Asia in 2015, they are upping the ante on marketing this region as one destination. China is said to account for most of these tourist arrivals. Wattanavrangkul said that tourism arrivals in ASEAN region are expected to increase by 6.5 percent a year during the next decade. She said that marketing travel within ASEAN region was crucial and that the thrust was on weekend travel, in addition to medical and education tourism. If you are looking to travel to any one of the Southeast Asian nations, get in touch with Y-Axis, a noted immigration consultancy company, to apply for a visa from one of its many offices.