Laos is considering a single entry-visa scheme with its neighbours following the agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.
A man walks around the That Luang Stupa in Vientiane. The temple is one of the most famous attractions for tourists in the Lao capital. (AFP File Photo)
The Lao government will hold talks with Cambodia, possibly at the end of this month, to learn from Phnom Penh's experience in this matter, a senior official at the consular department in Vientiane said.
"Cambodia has responded to our request for a study visit. We are keen to know if the visa fee is shared and, if it is, how this is done," he told The Vientiane Times.
The Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy has promoted a single visa policy among its members - Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam - since 2003, and hopes it will be realised in December 2015, when Southeast Asia becomes a single economic community.
The policy is along the lines of the Schengen visa adopted by some northern members of the European Union.
So far only Thailand and Cambodia have done it. Visitors to the two countries have been able to apply for a single visa since December last year at the embassies of Thailand or Cambodia.
Lao travel agents and academics welcomed the move by their government to introduce the single visa to boost tourism and business.
Khamtanh Keungpan Nha, acting president of the Lao Association of Travel Agents, said the one-visa policy would lure more visitors to Laos.
Liber Libuapao, chief of the National Economic Research Institute, said Laos will reap benefits from the policy but cautioned that clear regulations are needed on the fee-sharing process with its neighbours to ensure Laos is not put at a disadvantage.
Tourists consider Laos a secondary destination and they tend to apply for a visa to enter the first country they plan to visit, and then travel to Laos, Mr Liber said. The scarcity of direct air links with other countries is also a disadvantage for Laos positioning itself as the first country they will visit, he added.
More than three million tourists visited Laos last year. They pay a visa fee of between US$14 and US$42, depending on their nationality.