VET Air Bus Express And Sengchlern Transport Co. Ltd Offer New Bus Route Linking Cambodia and Laos From September 2024
A new bus service between Laos and Cambodia is expected to increase the number of Laotians visiting Cambodia when it launches in September 2024, but the announcement comes shortly after Lao Airlines ceased direct flights between Phnom Penh and Vientiane in June 2024 with the lack of demand one of the reasons.
The bus service offered by VET Air Bus Express and Sengchlern Transport Co. Ltd.will commence on September 1, 2024 following the signed agreement between the two companies. The bus service will link Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia with Champasak province in Laos which offers attractions such as the Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands).
VET Air Bus Express only launched in late 2022 in Cambodia offering in-travel service and even screens on the back of seats for entertainment. The company is owned by Neak Oknha Vireak Suo, and online, the company said they are launching the new route which “is set to boost tourism and meet the growing demand for seamless land travel between Cambodia and Laos.”
Vireak Suo also is the founder, director, CEO of Virak Buntham Express, founded a dozen resorts and hotels in Cambodia, and launched Buva Sea (Cambodia) Co., Ltd which offers boat services between Sihanoukville, Koh Rong, and Koh Rong Samloem. In July 2024 it was also announced that VET Airways is due to launch offering a new seaplane service in the Kingdom.
Although the flight route offered by Lao Airlines was also deemed too costly to serve the demand (there are still flight options with Vietnam Airlines), some arguments in the media argued that Cambodians and Laotians prefer to travel to each other's countries by bus rather than plane - aside from costs, its hard to image there would be a preference for a extremely long journey by road than a couple hours by air?
Yoy Vibol, General manager at VET Air Bus Express, said; “I hope the number of Cambodians who visit Laos will increase. Before, there were not many convenient modern bus services, but now companies are working closely to offer customers smiles and safety."
Lao Airlines ceased direct flights between Phnom Penh and Vientiane in June 2024, only three months after flights resumed post-pandemic in March 2024.
There have also been prolonged ambitions to connect Cambodia and Laos by train, and in Q1 2024, the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. (LCRC), was looking into possible cooperation in developing the railway network in Cambodia and high-speed railway link between Cambodia and Laos PDR.
Cambodia-Laos Tourism & Economic Cooperation
In 2023, the Tourism Ministry of Cambodia reported that 372,285 people visited Cambodia from Laos (with 140,373 in the first half of the year.) In the first half of 2024, there have been 188,373 Laos visitors to Cambodia.
A new Cambodia Tourism Board was formed by Prime Minister Hin Manet and among the reomednations are reducing airport fees and flight landing charges in an effort to make Cambodia more appealing to international travelers.
Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA) was initiated in 1999 and officially launched in 2004. Cambodia’s four provinces; Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, and Kratie that share borders with Laos and Vietnam - are part of the development initiative along with four provinces of Laos and five of Vietnam.