Laos tourism ambitions scaled back
With 4.1 million visitors against 5.2 million expected under the Visit Laos 2018 campaign, the country fell short of its tourism objectives for the year.
With 4.1 million visitors against 5.2 million expected under the Visit Laos 2018 campaign, the country fell short of its tourism objectives for the year. The Ministry of Tourism has revised its targets for 2019. This time, it aims for 4.5 million visitors through the Visit Laos-China 2019 campaign.
The tourism industry accounted for only $2 billion, or 13.7% of Laos' GDP in 2017. This placed it far behind its Southeast Asian neighbors such as Cambodia ($5.5 billion - 28.3%) or Thailand ($82.5 billion - 20.6%). The number of foreign tourists had even declined by 8.7% compared to 2016. The Laotian government then launched the Visit Laos 2018 campaign at the end of 2017 to reverse this declining trend. The work carried out last year succeeded in attracting 4.1 million tourists—twice as many as in 2017! Yet this result fell well short of the announced target of 5 million visitors. "Severe flooding during the last rainy season, poor road conditions and lack of tourism infrastructure" are, according to the Laotian Ministry of Tourism, the main causes of this setback.
New targets for 2019
Encouraged by this nonetheless remarkable increase, Laotian authorities did not sound the alarm but, for 2019, revised their targets downward. They launched the Visit Laos-China 2019 campaign in partnership with China. They hope to attract 4.5 million tourists this year, including 1 million from China. Several events have been announced to support this goal, such as a week celebrating Chinese culture and marking 58 years of diplomatic relations between Laos and China, as well as a mid-autumn festival accompanied by Chinese cultural performances in Luang Prabang.
Frequently asked questions
Laos welcomed 4.1 million foreign tourists in 2018 as part of the Visit Laos 2018 campaign. This figure, while showing strong growth compared to 2017, remains below the initial target of 5.2 million visitors set by the Laotian government.
According to the Laotian Ministry of Tourism, three main factors explain this disappointing result: severe flooding during the 2018 rainy season, poor road conditions, and lack of tourism infrastructure in the country.
The Visit Laos-China 2019 campaign is a tourism partnership launched between Laos and China for 2019. It aims to attract 4.5 million tourists, including 1 million from China, through shared cultural events, such as a Chinese culture week celebrating 58 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In 2017, tourism represented $2 billion, or 13.7% of Laos' GDP. This figure remains well below that of its regional neighbors: Cambodia derived $5.5 billion from tourism (28.3% of its GDP) and Thailand $82.5 billion (20.6% of GDP).
As part of the Visit Laos-China 2019 campaign, several events are planned: a week dedicated to Chinese culture to celebrate 58 years of diplomatic relations between Laos and China, as well as a mid-autumn festival with Chinese cultural performances in Luang Prabang.
