News
Japanese get 3-Year visas
The government decided on December 8 to offer a three-year, multiple-entry visa for Japanese nationals to facilitate and attract more investment and tourists. The decision was made by Prime Minister Hun Sen during the 5th year anniversary of Minibea, a Japanese motor assembly plant at Phnom ...
Laos-China railway to spur border zone development
The Laos-China railway will provide significant momentum for the development of the Boten-Mohan border economic cooperation zone, experts have noted. The railroad, a key project under China’s Belt and Road initiative, will link the Mohan-Boten border crossing in northern Laos to Vientiane, over a distance ...
Four-year plan aims to boost tourism

The National Tourism Policy Committee has unveiled a four-year plan to enhance tourism competitiveness and has also approved a special zone focusing on four islands in southern Thailand. Deputy Prime Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn on November 30 said the committee would organise a series of training programmes ...
New domestic tourism tax breaks okayed

The cabinet gave the nod on November 29 to the reinstatement of tourism stimulus measures including a 15,000-baht tax break on domestic tour packages and hotel accommodation for individual taxpayers. The measures are intended to entice people to spend the long public holiday at home ...
Myanmar and India to open new international border gate in Tamu

Pilgrims, traders and adventurous holidaymakers can soon look forward to the opening of a new border gate between India and Myanmar, officials say. Immigration Minister U Thein Swe said the new international border gate at Tamu, Sagaing Region, would open soon. He said the Indian ...
SRT plans high-speed rail talks with Malaysia

Thailand is preparing to sit for talks with Malaysia to discuss an ambitious initiative to build a new high-speed train system linking Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The planned meeting follows interest expressed earlier by the Malaysian transport minister, which drew an enthusiastic response from Thai ...
PM urges Hòa Bình to improve investment environment

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has urged the northern province of Hòa Bình to improve its investment environment so it can attract investors. Addressing a local investment promotion conference on November 19, the Prime Minister said Hòa Bình enjoys many advantages, such as its location ...
Three Thai airlines face CAAT clampdown

Three Thai-registered airlines are experiencing a financial crunch after their operations were severely affected by a sharp drop in Chinese tourists. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand ordered the three airlines to devise financial rehabilitation plans in response. The number of tourists from mainland China to ...
Luang Prabang sets sights on ASEAN clean city award

Laos is gearing up to submit Luang Prabang province as a contender to receive the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard in early 2018. Deputy Director of the Tourism Development Department under the Information, Culture and Tourism Ministry, Ms Phonemaly Inthaphome, told Vientiane Times on November ...
UNESCO, government to train Bagan masons
The masons tasked with rebuilding hundreds of crumbling pagodas in Bagan will receive training from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Bagan Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library later this month, department director U Aung Aung Kyaw told The Myanmar Times.`A 6.8-magnitude earthquake near ...