CAMBODIA and Thailand have agreed to speed up plans to provide a single tourist visa in a bid to increase visitors to the two countries, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Wednesday.

"We have signed an agreement, and we promised to push for the implementation of the plan as soon as possible, since our tourism industry has been hit by the global financial crisis," he told reporters following his return from bilateral talks in Bangkok.

In a further bid to boost tourism, he said, the two countries are also considering opening a new border crossing between Banteay Meanchey province and Thailand's Sa Keo province.

Hor Namhong said that the Poipet-Aranyaprathet border crossing was providing difficulties for tourists because of the volume of trade that crosses the border daily.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Thursday that the joint tourist visa would bring both countries benefits by boosting tourism, and that the neighbours also plan to create visa exemptions for each other's citizens from 2010.