Thailand’s bus line plan seen as effort to draw tourists from Cambodia

[Lite Beer]

Thailand’s bus line plan seen as effort to draw tourists from Cambodia

BANGKOK: -- After Thailand declared its plan to launch a new bus service linking Bangkok and Siem Reap via Si Sa Ket province, representatives of tourism industry of Cambodia see it as an effort to draw tourists away from their country, The Phnom Penh Post reported.

The plan was made public last week by Thailand’s Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapisit. He said that the new bus service would be launched by ASEAN integration, due in December. The launch will coincide with the completion of a new road connecting Bangkok to Thailand’s Si Sa Ket province bordering Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.

Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, however, said the new road also aims to boost tourism in Thailand’s northeastern provinces, which is 100 kilometres away from Siem Reap and also houses a number of ancient temples.

He said Thailand’s real strategy was to link its ancient temple sites in the Northeast to Siem Reap province. Tourists would be offerred one-day visits to Cambodia’s ancient temples and encouraged to stay longer in Thailand, he added.

But Chheuy Chhorn, deputy director of Siem Reap’s Tourism Department, expressed no concern over Thailand’s plan. He said the route will provide better transit for international visitors travelling between Bangkok and Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex.

“With the new road and bus line, we will see more foreign tourists coming through these border points from Si Sa Ket and then on to Siem Reap,” he was quoted as saying.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailands-bus-line-plan-seen-effort-draw-tourists-cambodia

-- Thai PBS 2015-01-17

[khwaibah]

Bangkok-Si Sakhet-Siem Reap 880 km. Bangkok-Aranyaprathet-Siem Reap 422 km. Who is bull shyting who ?

[marcusd]

Lovely. SUPER HI SO rich Cambodians. hmmm. Please bring on more of these stupid ideas as I really need a devaluation in the baht

[JeremyBowskill]

Thailand had tourism sewn up in the area and then p!ssed on their own chips, wouldn't need to chase tourism from other areas if they hadn't shot the golden goose.

[berybert]

Wouldn't worry to much about the road. Give it two years and it will be unusable.

[Tomtomtom69]

There are already two daily Bangkok - Siem Reap buses. Nobody is going to do a detour via Sri Saket to get there. However, I would welcome a dedicated Sri Saket-Siem Reap service.

[NCC1701A]

i asked my Thai girlfriend if she wanted to go to Cambodia with me for a short vacation.

she said, and I quote "Cam-boo-dee-ah bad. No like Thai people. Can not."

[wabothai]

Asean is officially only two weeks old and they already are biggering.

[MilesofSmiles]

i asked my Thai girlfriend if she wanted to go to Cambodia with me for a short vacation.

she said, and I quote "Cam-boo-dee-ah bad. No like Thai people. Can not."

Maybe you should take her there and open her mind a bit.

[tomross46]

I hope there is also a plan for customer service and safety.

[Tomtomtom69]

Asean is officially only two weeks old and they already are biggering.

what are you talking about? ASEAN was formed in the 1960s but if by any chance you are referring to Aec,that doesn't go into force until Dec 31st.

[Tomtomtom69]

i asked my Thai girlfriend if she wanted to go to Cambodia with me for a short vacation.

she said, and I quote "Cam-boo-dee-ah bad. No like Thai people. Can not."

Maybe you should take her there and open her mind a bit.

that might be a bit difficult. Unfortunately, many thais harbor this view about Cambodia and refuse to go there. I suspect his girlfriend would be kicking and screaming and refuse to go at all costs. There is however one slight truth to the thai view that Cambodians don't like them:the preah vihear temple doesn't allow thai visitors.

[angiolo]

Steal tourists from Cambodia. . Well maybe Cambodia steal tourists from Thailand

[yellowboat]

i asked my Thai girlfriend if she wanted to go to Cambodia with me for a short vacation.

she said, and I quote "Cam-boo-dee-ah bad. No like Thai people. Can not."

Thais sit on the boarders and rarely venture across. Am amazed by the total lack of curiosity . The ones that seem to cross boarders are the educated Bangkokians. On the other hand, many in Trat send their kids to Koh Kong (Cambodia) everyday for school. The English education is supposedly superior.

Many Cambodians and Lao venture across the boarder for trade and educational seminars and think nothing of it.

[Roota]

Many Cambodians and Lao venture across the boarder for trade and educational seminars and think nothing of it.

For exactly the same reason that a whole lot more Mexicans cross into the U.S.A. than vice versa. You go to the economically more developed country for opportunity, perceived or real. Believe me, they're not doing it out of 'curiosity'.

[surangw]

lure cambodians, or get tourists away from cambodia and into thailand ?

[Nemesis7]

always speculation.

[Ulic]

A map would be helpful to see where this new route versus the direct route would be.

[daveAustin]

i asked my Thai girlfriend if she wanted to go to Cambodia with me for a short vacation.

she said, and I quote "Cam-boo-dee-ah bad. No like Thai people. Can not."

Great prose. I wonder how she is with discussing string theory and quantum mechanics.

[SantiSuk]

Bangkok-Si Sakhet-Siem Reap 880 km. Bangkok-Aranyaprathet-Siem Reap 422 km. Who is bull shyting who ?

You're over-egging the comparison there a bit KB. Its 551 k from my house to Bangkok and I live about 60 k east of the Choam Sa Ngam/Anlong Veng crossing. Siem Reap ia bout 160k south of that border crossing. I reckon it's about 700km Bangkok to SR via that crossing. I don't think they are talking about going via Mueang SiSaket as that would be ludicrous.

Mere detail though - I agree that noone in their right mind would want to go from Bangkok through that border unless they were also visiting Lower Isaan. It would make much more sense to run a bus service from the railway station in Mueang SiSaket to Siem Reap and/or from Central Meuang Ubon. If they really had joined up thinking they would run Khon Kaen/Sisaket/Siem Reap to maximise the potential demand. Yes I know there are casino minibuses which reputedly run from Ubon to the border casino but most tourists are not that vacuous as to want to spend their holidays at a gaming table*.

Unfortunately the tourist authorities in this part of Thailand seem to me to be asleep at their post when it comes to foreign tourism (falang or regional).

*except the Chinese

[NCC1701A]

i asked my Thai girlfriend if she wanted to go to Cambodia with me for a short vacation.

she said, and I quote "Cam-boo-dee-ah bad. No like Thai people. Can not."

Great prose. I wonder how she is with discussing string theory and quantum mechanics.

one time I did show her a star trek movie. when she saw Mister Spock's ears for the first time she started laughing.