The Lao government has announced it will begin promoting domestic tourism next year as a way to boost tourism in addition to attracting foreign arrivals.
In a succession of visit year campaigns, 2018 saw Visit Laos Year, which helped the country attract large numbers of overseas visitors. Following the campaign’s success, this year was dubbed Vist Laos-China Year 2019, and included bilateral activities and tourism promotion between Laos and China.
The apparent success of the previous two visit year campaigns has prompted the government to go for a third, with the yet to be named domestic tourism year happening in 2020.
Sources say the campaign may be dubbed Lao Thiao Lao 2020, meaning “Lao visit Laos Year 2020”.
Vientiane Times reported that the department of Tourism Marketing under the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, is working on a campaign to encourage Lao people to travel within the country, as part of the national socio-economic development plan for 2020.
Consultation with tourism operators has already begun, while an exact target for visitor numbers has not yet been released.
International Tourism Target Set
In 2020, the government expects to attract around 4.7 million international visitors and raise more than US$ 900 million in revenue.
More than 756,900 Chinese visitors came to Laos this year, an increase of about 26 percent over the same period in 2018, with the Vist Laos-China Year being hailed as a success by authorities.
Newly appointed Lao Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism Mr. Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, recently met with Trip.com Group CEO Ms. Jane Sun for discussion on ways the website may assist tourism in Laos.
