Vang Vieng is gearing up to open a new tourism and hospitality training center in a move to improve tourism services in the city.
Construction of a new center is now complete and local officials are in the process of ordering supplies needed for classes, Vientiane Times reported. The center is expected to open by the end of this month.
The center, located on the Vang Vieng campus of the Vientiane Provincial Technical College, will provide vocational education programs in three areas – tourism, hotel services and cooking – in the 2020-2021 academic year, said the director of the college, Mr. Thonglor Vilayvong.
The center will be equipped with a practical training facility for students in tourism and hospitality and will also function as a small hotel, with six guest rooms.
It is part of the Improving Training Facilities and Standards of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Schools and Colleges initiative, which is co-financed by the Lao government, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Switzerland, and implemented by the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports and the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.
The Lao government laid out a plan in August last year to nurture Vang Vieng district into the country’s “official tourism town” by 2020 with supports from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
ADB announced at that time that it was providing USD 47 million for infrastructure development in the district and around the Nam Ngum reservoir to accommodate the growth of tourism.
The planned developments include a wharf, parking facilities, a community market, and a fishing village, as well as a garbage collection site.
In addition, a 6-kilometer road will be built to connect with Road No. 10, which should help to address congestion around the reservoir.
