Thailand, Laos and Vietnam to create Eco-Tourism super highway

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Thailand, Laos and Vietnam should jointly develop Routes 8 and 12 as eco-tourism routes linking the three countries rather than focusing on the highways as a trade route competing with Route 9.

The Tad Pha Suam waterfall in Bachiang Chaleunsouk district of Champasak, Laos, is a popular site for tourists.

Vitavas Srivihok, the Thai ambassador to Vientiane, said Thailand would raise the issue with Laos and Vietnam to co-operate on eco-tourism as the two routes have good potential for eco-tourism, given the number of caves, waterfalls and other attractive features along the way.

Goods transported to Vietnam via Laos on Routes 8 and 12 currently face problems because the Laotian Customs Department treats them as imported goods destined for re-export, thereby having to pay higher duties, said a transport industry source.

Goods transported via Route 9 are treated differently as it is mentioned in the Cross Border Transport Agreement under the Greater Mekong Sub-region framework and thus eligible for lower duties.

This has made transport costs higher and inspections more strict when the goods were transported via Routes 8 and 12, said the source.

Route 8 links Nakhon Phanom in Thailand with Tha Khak of Khammouane in Laos before linking to Route 12 in Laos to Dong Hoi in Vietnam and on to China. Route 9 links Mukdahan in Thailand via Savannakhet of Laos to Danang of Vietnam.

Mr Vitavas said he hoped that when the third Thai-Lao Bridge across the Mekong River linking Nakhon Phanom and Khammouane opens in November next year, it will help facilitate more tourism and trade on this route.

“Laos doesn’t want to be treated as a passageway [but this will require it to] develop its potential for tourism on Routes 8 and 12,” he said.

The weakness of Vietnam on the two routes is that its tourist spots are not connected to each other, he said.

However, Vietnam is discussing with France a proposal to build a bullet train line from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City which would result in lower volumes of air passengers and freight, said Mr Vitavas.

He said he would like to utilise the economic corridor as a tourism corridor as Laos is the best location for creating a link with four countries: Thailand, Burma, China, and Vietnam.

“Travelling through Laos will be the shortest way. If the roads in Laos can be connected, we can easily travel to all five countries in this region,” said Mr Vitavas.

He also urged the GMS members – Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and southern China – to co-operate on tourism more seriously.

He said better joint promotion of tourism was a good way to help alleviate poverty as foreign tourists like to visit many Asian countries at one time to save costs and time.

“There are few countries in the world that jointly promote regional tourism, such as those in Europe, the Caribbean countries and Pacific island countries,” said Mr Vitavas.

He said that of the total 2 million visitors to Laos last year, 1.3 million were Thais.

To promote tourism in the region, there should be a single visa and shared infrastructure, he added.

Mr Vitavas said the strategy for tourism promotion should include a common market with three to five countries treated as one destination. As well, it will be important to develop the human resources, encourage cross-border facilitation, private-sector participation and tourism-related infrastructure.

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Eco Tourism in Vietnam

Image by ecstaticist via Flickr

Gao Giong in the southern province of Dong Thap is a place that Cong has been closely connected to for many years. Its development has been his life’s passion, ever since he was a boy.

He says he will never forget the days in the past when the rainy season was approaching. His family and neighbours would bind together several small boats to make a large floating platform that was converted into a temporary house floating on the flooded rice paddies.

“Spending our nights out there we had to battle mosquitoes, bloodsuckers, snakes and mice,” recalls Cong.

But life has changed.

After a dozen years of helping out with developing what was a dry and neglected area into one of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta’s most famous eco-tourism sites, Cong is now proud of what he and his colleagues have achieved – an eco-escape rich with precious flora and fauna.

Work on the ambitious project started in 1985, when district authorities called for young volunteers to help develop and protect Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds). Cong was assigned to lead the group.

They dug channels, built irrigation systems and bridges and planted cajeputs, small flowering trees of the myrtle family, native to the East Indies and Australia. Many hectares of cajeput helped to create a more inviting environment for fauna and other flora to flourish, especially bird life such as stork, cormorants and herons.

The park has become a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. They come here to relax and enjoy meandering sampan cruises through the wetlands.

Bird watchers in particular are in for an enthralling visit, as the park provides a sanctuary for several species of birds during the flood season.

Cong says Gao Giong is most beautiful at this time, when the waters rise from August to October. During this time, water from the Mekong River flood the local rice fields and turn Gao Giong into an oasis teaming with life. Thousands of white storks hover over the green cajeputs, coming to feed on fish and bugs hidden in the reeds and waters. Bird nest across about 40ha of the park, which attract 15 types of birds, including egrets, sparrows, wild ducks and herons.

The environment is an example of the region’s mangrove lowlands and the park acts as a ‘green lung’ of the Dong Thap Muoi region.

Cong says the site has earned tens of billions of dong from tourism. In addition, they also earn VND4 billion (US$216,000) from exploiting the cajeput, which contains a greenish oil with a range of medicinal uses. Sales of the oil contribute a significant sum to the local government’s budget.

From 2003, the park’s management board has co-ordinated with tour operators to develop tourism services. About 300ha of 10-year-old cajeputs have been set aside for visitors. The park’s total size is 16,000ha.

To protect and preserve the park’s environment, Cong has focus on sustainable practises. Local residents are allowed to prune unsightly or excessive cajeput branches, which are used as fire wood or sold for money.

Cong says the park’s management board has spent hundreds of millions of dong in building houses and providing rice for needy households and underprivileged families in the area, granting scholarships for poor but talented children, providing free health checks and treatment to the poor and contributing to building bridges and roads.

Rural life in the Gao Giong has changed for the better and the local economy is thriving. There are now vital roads crossing floodways and new houses have sprung up with red tiled roofs sprouting antennas and providing a more comfortable life for local residents.

After nearly 25 years of working in the park, Cong and his management board have received many certificates of merit and gifts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Forest Watch and Dong Thap People’s Committee.

“I hope the Party and the State will further support us to improve infrastructure, creating good conditions for tourists to visit the area and help the site’s development as a precious example of the great outdoors,” says Cong.

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