Luang Prabang hospitality businesses eye more visitors

Hospitality-related businesses in Luang Prabang are confident that more tourists will visit the UNESCO world heritage town in the coming months, with most hotels and guesthouses seeing a high number of bookings since the end of Buddhist Lent.
“More and more visitors are coming here since the full reopening of Laos to foreign visitors in May. We are grateful to the government and other organisations for staging events such as the recent Luang Prabang Fest and events to celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent. These brought a large number of visitors from within Laos and from neighbouring countries,” said the Director of My Dream Boutique Resort, Mr Somneuk Bounsa.
The Luang Prabang Hotel and Restaurant Association frequently meets to discuss ways to attract more visitors during the peak tourist season.
“The members of our association offer special discounts in a bid to draw more tourists, such as lower prices for accommodation and food, while also providing high quality services,” Mr Somneuk said.
The owner of a guesthouse in Luang Prabang said 70 percent of rooms have been booked since September, mostly by visitors from Laos and Thailand.
“It is of huge significance that tourism in Laos, especially here in Luang Prabang, is recovering to levels seen before the Covid pandemic, and I hope that more visitors will come here soon,” he added.
The town of Luang Prabang, which is renowned for UNESCO’s listing of its old quarter as a world heritage site, has seen 90 percent of room reservations made by Thai visitors since Laos lifted all entry restrictions in May.
This month, the UK’s travel magazine Wanderlust ranked Laos and the Mekong River sixth in the 20 best places it advises people to visit this January, which may inspire even more people to explore the splendours of Laos.
However, fewer people are arriving from Europe, the Republic of Korea, China and other countries because travel is still difficult and people are suffering from an economic downturn.
Luang Prabang province is located 339km north of Vientiane. The journey by road takes at least six hours and about two hours by rail, while an international airport serves both domestic and international flights.
Visitors are recommended to visit Kuang Si and Tad Sae waterfalls, along with several others that provide the perfect opportunity for a swim or a picnic.
Another place of interest is Tham Ting Cave, located on the Mekong River. This is a place of pilgrimage and contains thousands of Buddha images of varying sizes.
And don’t forget to taste the acclaimed local food, including mou neam (rice mixed with lime, chilli and pork skin), jaew bong (a piquant sauce made with chillies and buffalo skin) as well as khaiphand (dried riverweed lightly fried with sesame seeds and garlic) and the sweet khao nom mor thord (sticky rice mixed with coconut and banana).
There are also souvenirs aplenty such as handmade baskets, which are used by locals to carry food to be offered to monks, or make attractive home décor items.

By Souksamai Boulom
(Latest Update October 26, 2022)