One city in Laos is a major hit with Thai tourists right now. Luang Prabang, Laos’s former capital, is seeing the majority of its room reservations filled by Thai travellers. Since Laos lifted its entry restrictions in May, Thais have made up 90% of the country’s room reservations.
Meanwhile, Laos now has fewer tourists coming from Europe, Korea, China, and other countries. Travel is still tricky, and people around the world are dealing with the economic crisis. But thanks to Thai tourists, the president of the Luang Prabang Hotel and Guesthouse Association said that hotels and guesthouses have been almost fully booked.
The Luang Prabang Tourism Department said that over 67,000 domestic visitors arrived in the city in the first 3 months of 2022, a 74% jump compared to the same period last year. Now that Laos’s travel restrictions have been lifted, tourism operators are preparing for an expected tourist influx. They have refurbished and upgraded several tourist hotspots, and have improved hospitality services.
This week, Luang Prabang is hosting a boat festival for the Buddhist Lent, hoping to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.
As a world renowned historic city, Luang Prabang’s old quarter is listed as a Unesco world heritage site. Visitors come to see Luang Prabang’s old temples and sites, as well as its rural scenery.
The city recently received a second Asean Clean Tourism Standard award following an assessment. It was judged to have achieved almost 93% of the criteria set under Asean clean tourism standards.
As Thai tourists flock to Luang Prabang, more Laotian visitors have also crossed into Thailand recently. On July 1, the day that ‘Thailand Pass’ was finally scrapped, about 3,618 Laotians crossed the Thai-Lao friendship bridge into the northeast city of Nong Khai. Tourism between Thailand and Laos looks to be strengthening now that travel restrictions have eased.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand