Vang Vieng to upgrade standards

VIENTIANE, 16 June 2017: Vang Vieng’s tourism authorities will improve the standard of attractions, facilities and services to make the travel experience more rewarding.

Vientiane Times quoted a provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department official, Boualy Milattanapheng, saying authorities will upgrade tourist attractions, while also implementing service training to meet international standards as the country prepares for Visit Laos Year 2018.

“The department is ranking hotels and guesthouses standards from one to five stars, as well as offering hotel and guesthouse staff training.” Read more

Luang Prabang bucks travel trend

LUANG PRABANG, 14 June 2017: Lao PDR’s World Heritage town Luang Prabang bucked the country’s negative trend in tourist arrivals in 2016 delivering a 5.88% increase, the town’s tourism department reported on the sidelines of the Mekong Tourism Forum last week.

Addressing a press conference, Luang Prabang deputy director Department of Information, Culture and Tourism, Soudaphone Khomthavong, said the destination continues to see positive results during the first quarter of this year, the only province to do so.

Overall, Laos closed 2016 with 4.68 million tourist arrivals, down 12.66% from 4.23 million in 2015. The last time the country saw its tourist arrivals dip was in 2001 and again in 2003. The drop in 2001 was blamed on the terror attack in the US and in 2003 on the SARS epidemic in Asia. Read more

Two-way talk on tourism

VIENTIANE, 7 June 2017: Travel operators in Laos will continue to request the Thai government to extend opening hours at shared border checkpoints to promote two way tourism.

According to the Lao National News Agency the initial request was made to Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, last month during a joint Lao PDR-Thailand meeting on tourism.

Lao tour operators want the border to remain open until midnight rather than the present closing time of 2200. Read more

MTF: Meet the destination

LUANG PRABANG, 7 June 2017: The Mekong Tourism Forum 2017, kicked off this morning at the Central Bank building, Luang Prabang.

Hosted by the Provincial Government of Luang Prabang, a famed UNESCO World Heritage town, the MTF attracted over 200 travel executives and leaders from the Mekong Region.

The event is an annual gathering of leaders from the six country grouping that represents tourism in Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Guang Xi provinces) Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Read more

China-Lao rail gathers steam

LUANG PRABANG, 7 June 2017: A fast rail line from China to Laos will run straight through Luang Prabang, Lao PDR’s famed World Heritage town, when it opens December 2021.

Officials confirmed late last month that the construction of the Laos-China railway is gathering steam as teams bore and drill foundations at 75 tunnel and 167 bridge locations on a route that will stretch 414 km from end-to-end.

The line crosses the China-Lao border with major rail stations planned for Luang Namtha, 360 km northeast of Lao capital, Luang Prabang and Vientiane where it will eventually merge with a line crossing into Thailand at Nong Khai. Read more

Laos visits drop 12%

VIENTIANE, 6 June 2017: Lao PDR’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism reports the country attracted 1.11 million international tourists during January to March, this year, a decrease of 12% from 1.24 million visits during the same period last year.

The official Lao News Agency reported the first quarter of 2017 saw 763,000 visits from ASEAN markets, which represented an 11% decrease when compared with 866,000 visits in the first quarter of 2016.

Tourists from Europe recorded almost 60,000 down 29% followed by almost 20,000 visits from the Americas (-30%) and 2,100 visits from Africa and the Middle East (-29%). Read more

Vang Vieng cleans up its act

VIENTIANE, 15 May 2017: Information, Culture and Tourism Office reports Vang Vieng attracted 183,000 visitors last year generating more than 70 billion kip (USD8.52 million) from its tourism industry.

Lao News Agency noted that of the total visitor count, more than 141,000 visits were foreigners. Efforts to clear the resort of unruly backpackers and reduce drug abuse has also been partially successful. Read more

Laos identifies attractions

VIENTIANE, 8 May 2017: Lao PDR’s Ministry of Planning and Investment in its latest report states there are 2,100 tourist sites in Laos that are either attracting tourists, or have the potential to do so.

Lao News Agency reported there are almost 1,200 ecotourism sites, 600 cultural sites and almost 300 historical sites including two World Heritage sites, but most of them lack basic infrastructure such as roads and many of the ecotourism sites are only of value for local tourists.

The figures are based on a survey conducted during 2015 to 2016. Read more

Funds for new heritage centre

CHAMPASAK, 2 May 2017: Champasak province in Laos plans to construct a new heritage conservation centre to preserve and present precious artifacts and cultural legacies in the southern provinces.

Vientiane Times reported the Heritage Department under the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism plans to construct a new centre supported USD1.5 million in funding from the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation.

The project aims to improve display and store heritage items and create a modern centre for visitors to experience Vat Phou Champasak and its surrounds. Read more

Laos identifies tourism objectives

VIENTIANE, 20 April 2017: Lao PDR’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism plans to develop tourist attractions across the country through to 2020 to offer more travel choices and attract more visitors to the country.

Vientiane Times quoted the ministry’s tourism development department general deputy director, Phonemaly Inthaphom, saying the ministry has signed off on a development plan of tourism sites with local authorities.

“Each province will have to develop 20 tourism sites through the fiscal years 2013 to 2020, meanwhile the ministry will develop 23 tourism sites.” Read more

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