VIENTIANE, Nov 2 (NNN-KPL) – The Lao government will continue with a tourism programme in 2022, to invite Lao and foreign tourists who have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, especially from China and South Korea, to explore the country.
It is hoped that the programme – Lao Thiao Lao, or Lao Visit Laos, will attract at least 1.9 million domestic visitors and more than one million foreign visitors in 2022, local daily, Vientiane Times, quoted Deputy Prime Minister, Sonexay Siphandone as saying, at the National Assembly yesterday.
If the tourism initiative goes ahead, it is expected that restaurant and accommodation-related business would increase by 1.8 percent, he said.
The campaign was launched in 2020, to encourage Lao citizens to travel within the country.
In the first six months of that year about 615,000 Lao nationals made trips, an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
However, the COVID-19 outbreak in 2021 meant that most hotels, guesthouses, tour companies, and the nation’s many tourist attractions had to close.
In addition, many major events were cancelled or postponed, such as, the Lao New Year festival, the planned celebration of Hai Hin (Plain of Jars) being listed as a world heritage site, and the National Games in northern Laos’ Xieng Khuang province.
Travel restrictions meant that foreign tourists could not come to Laos, but there are now hope that a resurgence of tourism activities will bring more visitors to the country.
As of today, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Laos reached 41,829, with 70 deaths.
Laos reported its first two confirmed COVID-19 cases on Mar 23, last year.– NNN-KPL
