Bangkok, Thailand, December 2, 2004 -- One of the world’s most unique tourism products came a big step closer to reality this week with the successful completion of the first officially-organised overland motor caravan between Thailand and Cambodia since the end of the Indochina wars in 1979.

Operated between November 27 and December 1, 2004, the caravan has opened up the huge potential of direct road travel between Bangkok and the famed temples of Angkor Wat, further cementing the role of Thailand as the tourism hub of the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Mrs Juthamas Siriwan said, “The vastly improving quality of transportation infrastructure in the GMS will play a major role in helping tour operators create some wonderful air-road-river packages in future.”

The caravan covered the overland route in the lower Northeast region of Thailand and its nearby areas which boast some exotic ruins of ancient Khmer architecture in the provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket, Ubon Ratchathani and Sa Kaeo.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Suwat Liptapallop launched the tour on November 27, 2004 in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand’s gateway to the Northeast.

It then crossed over the border and headed for Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, home of the Angkor Wat temples, before returning to Bangkok on December 1.

Two groups participated in the five-day road trip that followed more or less the same route but involved different activities.

Group A was an auto-venture caravan which, upon flag-off, included a total of 29 cars and approximately 116 people including potential investors, media, guests and other interested participants.

Group B was a bus caravan with approximately 85 participants in three buses. The members were diplomatic corps, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Ministry of Culture, private operators, public agencies and the media.

They were joined by representatives of the Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism at the Chong Chom checkpoint on the Thai-Cambodian border in Surin Province. The return leg was via the Poipet-Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province.

The Khmer Civilization Routes project is an important component of the “Two Kingdoms One Destination” joint campaign designed to package and promote the two Buddhist kingdoms of Thailand and Cambodia.

Overland tourism has huge potential in the region.

The southern border with Malaysia currently sees a daily stream of overland visitors from Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Korea, Japan, the UK, USA, France, Germany, and Australia.

Similarly, the opening of the Khmer Civilizations route will make it possible for Cambodia to substantially boost its overland traffic from Thailand.

In addition, it will help create jobs and alleviate poverty for rural dwellers along the route.

The Khmer Civilization Routes is just one part of the much bigger Asian Highway project that will eventually create two ‘highway corridors’, one running East-West between the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal and the other running North-South linking Singapore and Malaysia with Kunming in China.

Another important road caravan also under way is the first ever India-ASEAN car rally, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India on November 22 in Guwahati.

From there, it travelled through Myanmar and Thailand to Vientiane, the capital of Lao PDR, where it received another ceremonial ‘flag-off’ on November 30, 2004 by the heads of state of ASEAN countries and Mr. Singh, all of whom were present for the ASEAN summit.

Guwahati is in India’s northeastern state of Assam and will in future serve as a major bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

This 8,000-kilometre rally will travel across Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and finish on December 11, at Batam, Indonesia, showing the region’s world-class road connectivity.

International PR Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
1600 Petchaburi Road, Makkasan, Rajatevee
Bangkok 10400
Thailand
Tel: 66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 1574-78
Fax: 66 (0) 2253 7419