Laos opens cave tourism

WIANG PHUKA, 5 March 2012: A remote cave in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Wiang Phuka district has been opened for tourists.

Situated 12 km from Wiang Phuka town, Kao Rao cave was officially opened for tourism, 1 January. Officials believe it can attract international travellers interested in nature trails, mainly Europeans who stay in the country for two weeks or more.

The cave pioneer, Sriwang Kaewmanee, told TTR Weekly that he found the cave in 2001 and asked the Lao’s government to support efforts to introduce it to tourists. Read more

Laos welcomes Eco Bike Tour

LUANG NAMTHA, LAOS,  2 March 2012:  Luang Namtha province officials say the R3A  highway has  helped to generate more income for residents and improve the province’s economy since it opened in 2008.

The comments were made at a welcoming party for the Eco Bike Tour 2012 earlier this week.

Luang Namtha Provincial Tourism Department director, Phonesavath Kamonthong, said the Lao government’s policy to work with neighbours to build the economy would ultimately benefit tourism. But the challenge is to ensure that Laos earns revenue from overland tourism rather than becoming just a transport corridor between popular destinations like China and Thailand. Read more

Elephants draw tourists to Laos

SAYABOULY, 23 February 2012: Sayabouly, a province in northwest Laos is counting on its annual elephant festivals to build awareness, while there are plans to upgrade highways and add more international border checkpoints with neighbouring Thailand.

Foreign aid is pouring in from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and German development cooperation through the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale (GIZ) and other tourism-related NGOs to build infrastructure, mainly roads and community-based tourism projects.

At the local community level the emphasis is on elephant trekking, herbal spa centres, cotton production, cave exploration and homestay.

Read more

Plan to exploit Vientiane’s marsh

VIENTIANE, 6 January 2012: Vientiane plans to develop the capital’s That Luang marsh into a green zone of wetlands, a public park, residential estates and a commercial centre.

According to Vientiane Times, a Japanese company has proposed a sustainable development of the marsh through to 2030, but critics would differ on what constitutes sustainable and possibly claiming the  natural marsh area is a natural barrier against flooding.

The government must approve the plan, which breaks down into five zones, covering an area of 2,200 hectares, of which 660 hectares would be dry land and the rest wetlands. Read more

Laos gets second airline

BANGKOK, 6 January 2012: Lao Central Airlines organised an inaugural flight late last month to introduce services to  guests and media, but the first commercial flight is not expected to take off until late January.

According to Vientiane Times, Lao Central Airlines, formerly called Phongsavanh Airlines, organised an inaugural flight on the Vientiane and Luang Prabang route, 30 December, after it took delivery of its second Boeing737-400 aircraft.

The airline will organise a similar inaugural flight to Pakse later this month to introduce the southern domestic route. Read more

Sunny skies over Vientiane’s Hotels

VIENTIANE, 14 December 2011: The forecast for Vientiane’s hotel looks sunny, but bring an umbrella,” Horwath HTL’s Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas told the 5th Lanith Quarterly Symposium at Vientiane’s Settha Palace last Friday.

Lanith (Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality) chief technical advisor Peter Semone opened the event “Hotel and Tourism Development in Vientiane: Current Trends and Future Prospects” warning, “Vientiane is making a big mistake in its haphazard hotel development and assuming customers will come. They need a plan.”

Singapore-based, Horwath HTL assistant director, marketing and special projects for Asia Pacific Ho-Strangas, then presented, “ASEAN Hotel Sector: Key Market Trends”.

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Lao tourism prospers

BANGKOK, 29 November 201: Laos reports a healthy 22% improvement in travel arrivals during January to September according to the latest report from the Lao National Tourism Administration

During the nine-month period, January to September, Laos tallied 2,185,350 international tourists, a significantly increase of 22.17% from 1,788,798.

In September, Laos received 236,267 international tourists, up 20.97% from 195,318 last year.

Read more

Moment of truth for Lao tourism

VIENTIANE, 14 September 2011 – Laos’ tourism has reached its moment of truth and must elevate service quality achieve its ambitious tourism targets, UNWTO Ulysses Prize winner Professor Kaye Chon told more than 100 travel industry leaders and National University of Lao students, during the 4th Lanith Quarterly Symposium in Vientiane, late last week.

The government has targeted USD1 billion in annual revenue from tourism by 2020 which will require improvements in competitiveness and service quality, Mr Chon, a dean and chair professor at the prestigious Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel & Tourism Management, told the audience mainly travel executives and tourism related students. Read more

Luang Prabang runway faces delays

VIENTIANE, 14 September 2011 – Opening of a new runway at Luang Prabang airport has been delayed to October after officials conceded construction of important facilities was running behind schedule.

Lao News Agency quoted Luang Prabang Airport’s project manager, Sackda Soulisack, saying construction was 63% complete, but work on a flight control upgrade and a perimeter fence had fallen behind schedule.

Work started in April 2010 and should now be ready by 20 October, just before the main tourist season kicks in. A new passenger terminal will be finished by mid 2013. Read more

Lao Airlines and Abacus to sign MoU

BANGKOK, 12 September 2011 – Abacus and Lao Airlines will introduce a joint venture company, this Wednesday, that will give the Singapore-based global distribution system a foothold in Laos’ emerging airline business.

Abacus CEO Robert Bailey confirmed, last Friday, during a business visit to Bangkok that Abacus and the airline would both hold a financial stake in the new company.

Lao Airline’s top officials and Mr Bailey will sign a Memorandum of Understanding this Wednesday that will put Lao Airline’s domestic and international flight  inventory into the Abacus system worldwide. Read more

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