Air travel dominates with cheap fares

BANGKOK, 28 September 2017: Thailand’s latest tourism statistics through to the end of August indicate that 85.2% of all visits are air arrivals, clocked in at immigration counters in airports, leaving just 13.6% to cross at overland borders and 1.2% to disembark at seaports.

Air travel dominates even for travel from neighbouring countries. Fares are cheap than ever before, while overland bus travel is considered risky and time consuming.

In August alone arrivals by air reached 2,670,430 as opposed to 425,634 by land and 37,347 by sea. 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

Lao outbound trips tip 3 million

VIENTIANE, 17 March 2017: Lao PDR’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism’s Tourism Development Department reports Lao citizens made 3.05 million trips in 2016.

Vientiane Times quoted the department’s statistics unit that monitored a slight decrease of 0.3% when compared with more than 3.06 million trips in 2015 and a decline of 7.58% on 3.3 million trips registered in 2014.

However, the number of Lao nationals booking air travel increased slightly. Read more

Risky roads in Laos

BANGKOK, 24 January 2017: Travellers are warned to not travel overland from Vang Viang to Luang Prabang as a safety precaution, according to the latest Smartraveller advisory issued by the Australian government, Monday.

The Australian advisory did not elaborate other than to say it was recommending travellers avoid overland travel on highway 13 beyond Vang Vieng.

However, a recent Canadian travel advisory advices travellers to exercise a high degree of caution due to ongoing security concerns related to “banditry and unexploded munitions”. Read more

Myanmar’s e-Visa goes overland

YANGON, 5 September 2016: Effective 1 September, Myanmar has extended its e-Visa facility to include three overland checkpoints in Thailand.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Labour Immigration and Population confirmed the addition of three overland checkpoints last week on its website.

It said the e-Visa is applicable at three land border checkpoints; Tachileik, Myawaddy and Kawthaung, effective 1 September. Read more