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The 10 ASEAN members will lodge a bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030, with the governments set to join forces with the soccer associations within the grouping to prepare.

In a related development, the grouping has also discussed ways to implement a unified ASEAN travel visa to ease travel within the region for citizens of non-ASEAN member states, a prerequisite for jointly hosting a World Cup.

“We are serious with our plan to bid for hosting the 2030 World Cup. We will take the necessary steps, including pooling our resources and engaging the football association as a respective member for that goal,” Indonesian Foreign Ministry director general for ASEAN cooperation Djauhari Oratmangun said.

He said ASEAN foreign ministers, who will meet here on Tuesday, will discuss the issue so that members could take concerted efforts to quickly prepare for the bid.

The World Cup is the world’s most widely viewed sporting event. For instance, an estimated 715.1 million people worldwide watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup Germany. The 2010 championship was held in South Africa, the first in the continent, while the next three events will be in
Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

The 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, was the first held in Asia and the only tournament with multiple hosts.

Djauhari said Indonesia’s proposal to enable ASEAN to have a single visa has been well received by other members. “The single visa for non-ASEAN members will boost visitors and the tourism industry. How can we jointly host a World Cup without having a single visa?”

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa earlier said there were some challenges to the idea.

“We want countries outside ASEAN to see this organization as a single place to visit. We have to consider the laws and rules of each country. Besides, we are still learning what effects may come from the ASEAN visa, as far as safety and politics,” he said, adding that the concept of a joint visa system will resemble the Schengen visa system used by some European countries.

Most ASEAN countries have been issuing free visas for visitors from other member countries since 2005. Of the 10 members — Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia — only the last three have yet to implement the visa-free policy.

Some media outlets have reported that the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA), consisting of ASEAN member tourism bodies, has said they have been busy lobbying their respective governments to adopt a single visa policy valid as a critical step in developing ASEAN into a single tourism destination.

ASEANTA vice-president Elly Hutabarat said the idea of a single ASEAN visa has received widespread support from the governments of the association, but has encountered problems in moves toward implementation due to varying immigration and visa policies among the 10 countries.

Source: The Jakarta Post

According to media sources in Phnom Penh, the visa exemption for citizens of five states in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has cost Cambodia’s treasury US$14.1 million in reduced revenue since it was introduced in January 2008.

Citizens from Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam currently qualify for the exemption.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon told the Phnom Penh Post that the visa exemption agreement will be extended next year to Thailand, and by 2015 to the remaining three ASEAN members of Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar.

“We realize that our visa-exemption program for travelers from ASEAN countries results in lower national revenues, but we will continue it because increased arrivals can boost economic growth kingdom-wide and will create many jobs,” Minister Thong Khon said.

Tourism is one of Cambodia’s key economic engines. More than two million tourists visited the country last year, many drawn by the Angkor Wat temple complex in the northwest.

The Ministry of Tourism reported that Cambodia issued 278,842 visas to ASEAN nationals in the first six months of 2009, which cost the government US$5.5 million. That compared with 431,426 visa exemptions issued last year at a cost of US$8.6 million.

Source: eTurbonews

Citizens from countries outside ASEAN can apply for Vietnam visa on arrival at http://www.vietnam-visa.com/.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries vowed to introduce one visa regime for citizens from countries outside ASEAN by 2015.

“It will however take special effort to be able to issue an ASEAN visa because visa regime in each country is different,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa was quoted by the ANTARA Indonesian news agency.

The announcement was made during the ongoing 18th ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The new visa system will allow a citizen from a country outside ASEAN come to all ASEAN member countries with one visa, the same way it works with a Schengen visa in the European Union.

Source: Rian

When waiting for the ASEAN regime takes effect, citizens of other countries in ASEAN can apply for Vietnam visa on arrival at http://www.vietnam-visa.com. Check out the Vietnam visa cost for ASEAN citizens here http://www.vietnam-visa.com/pricing.html.

The government has decided to extend visa on arrival facility to Buddhist pilgrims coming from five more ASEAN countries-Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

The scheme would be operational from January 1,2011,” the Ministry of Tourism has said.

The single-entry visa, to be issued at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata airports, will ne valid for a month.

“The decision was taken after due discussion with the ministries of External Affairs and Home. A formal announcement in this regard will be made soon,” an official said.

It is expected that this facility will attract more Buddhist pilgrims.

Earlier, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, Finland and Luxembourg were extended the visa on arrival facility.

The International Finance Corporation and the Ministry of Tourism have inked an agreement under which the IFC has been given the responsibility of developing the Buddhist circuit in India.