Foreign tourists generated more spending within the country than regional tourists, regardless that regional tourist arrivals were 92 percent higher last 12 months.
Last 12 months, the variety of tourist arrivals to Laos reached 4.2 million, and the variety of tourists from Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand to Laos exceeded 3 million.
According to the newly published nationwide statistical report of the Tourism Development Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, the variety of foreign tourist arrivals to the country reached over 396,000 people, generating revenues of over USD 396 million, and the arrival of regional tourists (Asia and the Pacific) exceeded 3.5 million people and generated only $328 million in revenue, with most regional tourists coming from neighboring countries resembling Thailand, Vietnam, China and Cambodia.
Statistics also showed that the income of international tourists was higher than that of regional tourists as their stay lasted on average over 7 days per person and the common day by day expenditure per person was over $76.
Meanwhile, tourists from regional countries stayed on average one to a few days per person, spending between $12 and $52 per person per day. Most regional tourists also had multiple options available to enter Laos, including through passports, border passes, and “one-day” passes.
Laos Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Savankhone Razmountry said tourism has turn into a big economic sector for developing countries world wide.
“CLMVT countries have tourism potential due to their wealth of unique cultural attractions, abundance of natural beauty and relatively developed tourism infrastructure,” he said.
He also added: “It was an outstanding achievement that was certainly indicative of the existing collaboration between the public and private sectors for the common benefit of all sectors.”
In 2016, the entire variety of tourist arrivals was over 4.2 million, down from over 4.6 million people in 2015, while revenues to the country this 12 months amounted to over USD 724 million, a slight decline in in comparison with over USD 725 million in revenue in 2015.
Among tourist arrivals, Thailand continued to steer with over 2 million visitors, followed by the Vietnamese with over 1.1 million arrivals. More than 545,000 Chinese also visited the country.
In order to draw more tourists to the country, the federal government is currently attempting to advertise its tourist attractions throughout the country, hoping to extend the number of tourists ahead of the “Laos Visit Year 2018”.
It is estimated that this 12 months the country can be visited by over 4.8 million tourists, which is able to bring revenues of over USD 843 million, and the variety of tourists by 2025 can be over 7.5 million people, and revenues will amount to over PLN 1.3 billion. dollars.
Source : Times website | Nation
