VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): Tourists are flocking back to Laos now that travel restrictions have been lifted worldwide as the Covid-19 pandemic ceases to hamper leisure activities.
Many people decide to visit Laos after hearing about its charms from their friends or from other travellers they meet by chance while in Thailand or Vietnam. And with most of the comments being positive, many of those who have not yet been to Laos decide to rectify that omission.
Independent travel gives people the opportunity to make choices while on the road, but they largely rely on word of mouth to formulate their itinerary rather than making decisions based on advertising by, in this case, Lao tourism authorities.
The government makes much of its desire to attract more tourists to Laos, but is it spending enough on advertising, with a particular focus on target groups? Laos has so much to offer through its scenic splendours and laidback lifestyle.
If the government wants to bolster the tourism industry, it should invest in targeted campaigns. Large numbers of tourists spend time in Vietnam and Thailand, but these are not accidental visits and are well planned. The many attractions of these countries are widely advertised and well known around the world.
Deputy Head of the Tourism Board of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inthy Deuansavanh (pic), is a longstanding investor in the Lao tourism industry.
He told the Vientiane Times that there are many people in China who are attracted to Laos, drawn by its open spaces, natural wonders, simple lifestyle and quaint villages. More and more Chinese people will come to Laos, he predicted.
“People in Thailand know all about Laos and the similarities in language mean there is already a close connection, so intensive advertising there is not necessary. Beyond Thailand, targeted advertising doesn’t have to go far – China and Vietnam is more than enough,” he said.
Realising that advertising must be bankrolled, he suggested collecting a fee of US$2 from every tourist entering the country, which the government would certainly welcome. For example, if 4.8 million tourists come to Laos in a year, this would generate about US$10 million.
Inthy said just 10 per cent of this amount would be sufficient to roll out an effective marketing campaign. However, it would require a team of creative professionals to develop an intensive and effective promotional programme.
Next year, the country is hosting Visit Laos Year 2024, which coincides with the Asean Tourism Forum and Asean Summit taking place in Vientiane.
Inthy said it was good that arrangements for Visit Laos Year 2024 were being discussed ahead of time.
The public and private sectors have met to plan activities and marketing campaigns, which must not require a large budget but must be carried out efficiently.
“The last Visit Laos Year was in 2018, when the government spent a lot of money to promote the year-long programme. Every province organised events, but the preparation time was quite short. I’m not sure the results justified the expense,” he said.
But that year more than 4.1 million tourists came to Laos.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, travel patterns have changed, Mr Inthy said, and fewer people are travelling around the country on package tours.
He said the reason for this is that a lot of information about tourist attractions, hotels, guesthouses and restaurants is available on mobile phones. After a careful study of what’s available, more people are deciding to travel independently with their friends.
Visit Laos Years were organised by the government in 1999-2000, 2012, and 2018, with the joint Visit Laos-China Year marketed in 2019.
Following the collapse of tourism during the pandemic, tourism is now on the rebound, with more than 1.4 million foreign tourists coming to Laos in the first five months of this year The largest number of visitors came from Thailand, Vietnam and China.
The government’s goal is for at least 2.5 million people to visit Laos over the course of 2023, and at least 2.7 million next year.
These figures are a significant increase on those for 2022, when almost 1.3 million tourist arrivals were recorded. Most foreign tourists came from Thailand, Vietnam, China, South Korea and the United States, according to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.