Recently, Turkmenistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Gurbanov flew to Phnom Penh to hold talks with Cambodia's Minister of Tourism, Huha. Both sides held consultations on the opening of two direct flight routes from Ashgabat to Phnom Penh and from Ashgabat to Siem Reap, and exchanged in-depth views on expanding tourism cooperation and organizing mutual visits between investors and media from the two countries. This is a clear signal that Central Asian landlocked countries are actively embracing the Southeast Asian tourism market.

Open up the aerial corridor from Central Asia to Angkor

One of the core topics of the talks is the establishment of two direct flight routes between Ashgabat Phnom Penh and Ashgabat Siem Reap. At present, there are no direct flights between Turkmenistan and Southeast Asia. Passengers need to transfer through Dubai or Istanbul, and the one-way travel time exceeds 12 hours. If the route lands, the flight time can be compressed to about 8 hours, which will greatly reduce the cost of personnel exchanges between the two countries.

Data shows that Cambodia will receive approximately 6.6 million international tourists in 2024, with tourism revenue exceeding 6 billion US dollars. The Angkor Wat scenic area in Siem Reap Province will receive over 2.2 million visitors annually, making it one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia. Turkmenistan is accelerating its tourism diversification strategy, with approximately 380000 foreign tourists visiting the country in 2024, with medical tourism and cultural heritage tourism experiencing the most rapid growth. Once the two routes are opened, it is expected to increase the number of bilateral tourists to over 150000 within three years.

The two cards displayed by the earthworks

Gulbanov emphasized the two major tourism resources of Turkmenistan during the meeting. First, cultural heritage - the ancient city of Merv and Kunia Ulgenchi have been included in the UNESCO The World Heritage List, attracting more than 120000 cultural tourists every year. The second is medical tourism - Avaza National Tourism Zone has built multiple international standard medical institutions, and its medical tourism revenue will increase by about 18% year-on-year in 2024, becoming the fastest growing sub track in Central Asia. Key words: the Belt and Road, Turkmenistan

During the visit, the Turkish delegation also held multiple talks with representatives of the Cambodian government and business community, and reached preliminary consensus on organizing mutual visits and inspections between investors, media, and tourism company representatives from the two countries. The establishment of a high-level mutual visit mechanism means that this cooperation road from Ashgabat to Angkor is moving from conception to implementation.Editor/Cheng Liting