YANGON: Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on tourism cooperation between Cambodia and Myanmar, the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA) and Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism have expressed their commitment to broadening collaboration to increase two-way tourist arrivals between the two nations.
The commitment was reaffirmed when tourism minister and a delegation from the ministry and the Cambodia Tourism Board (CTB) met with U Kyaw Bohne Naing, president of UMTA and representatives of several leading Myanmar tourism companies in Myanmar, on Tuesday (June 16).
The UMTA president highlighted Cambodia’s tourism potential, particularly its renowned cultural, historical and natural attractions, including the Angkor archaeological complex, coastal destinations and religious tourism sites, which he said could attract more Myanmar visitors in the future.
He also emphasised UMTA’s role in promoting Myanmar’s tourism industry and reaffirmed the association’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Cambodia’s tourism ministry to enhance tourist exchanges and joint promotional activities.
Both sides agreed to promote joint tourism marketing campaigns, familiarisation trips (FAM Trips), tourism business forums (B2B Forums) and the development of new tour packages.
In addition, the two sides discussed encouraging tourism enterprises, hotel operators, travel agencies and investors from Myanmar to explore investment opportunities, contributing to sustainable tourism development and generating mutual benefits for both countries.
Hak requested that UMTA help promote Cambodia’s tourism potential to Myanmar citizens and tourism operators through its extensive membership network. He also encouraged the organisation of FAM trips for travel companies, journalists, content creators and social media influencers from Myanmar, to showcase the Kingdom’s tourism attractions to a wider Myanmar audience.
The tourism minister voiced support for improved air connectivity between key tourism destinations, such as Cambodia’s Angkor region and Myanmar’s Bagan archaeological zone, with the aim of attracting more regional and international visitors.
Established in 2002, UMTA is one of Myanmar’s most influential private-sector tourism organisations, representing around 1,000 member entities. The association has played an active role in promoting major tourism destinations such as Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake, and is widely recognised as a key partner in the development of Myanmar’s tourism sector.
On the same day, Hak met with Maung Myint, Myanmar’s Minister of Hotels, Tourism and Culture, in Yangon, to discuss ways to strengthen and expand tourism cooperation.
Both sides agreed to implement the Cambodia-Myanmar tourism cooperation MoU, while promoting the exchange of experience, human resource development and professional capacity-building within the tourism sector.
They also agreed to advance joint tourism promotion, develop combined travel packages and conduct collaborative marketing campaigns under the theme “Two Countries, One Destination”. The initiative aims to increase tourism flows between Cambodia and Myanmar while attracting visitors from third-country markets to explore both destinations.
The two sides further expressed support for organising a Joint Cambodia-Myanmar Tourism Conference and developing attractive joint tourism products.
Additionally, discussions focused on promoting religious tourism by leveraging the rich Buddhist heritage of both countries. The two governments agreed to support the development of pilgrimage tour packages and joint promotional activities aimed at strengthening spiritual tourism and fostering closer people-to-people ties.
According to tourism ministry figures, Cambodia welcomed around 37,000 tourists from Myanmar in 2025. During the first four months of 2026, the Kingdom received more than 1.3 million international visitors, of whom over 10,000 were from Myanmar. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
