Laos sets out its stall to attract growing influx of visitors from China
Siphone, a travel guide in Laos, is preparing his team to harness the opportunities resulting from increasing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the country.
“Since 2016, we have been looking to collaborate and form partnerships with Chinese travel agents to help sell our products,” said Siphone, who has only one name and is managing director of the travel company Lonely Tours in Luang Prabang, northern Laos.
Known as the “city of the Golden Buddha” Luang Prabang is the former capital of Laos, and since 1995 has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 2016, China was the third-largest source of tourists to Laos, after Thailand and Vietnam.
Last year, an estimated 4.1 million tourists visited Laos, a year-on-year rise of 8.2 percent, according to the Laotian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism. Of this number, more than 800,000 visitors were from China, a rise of 26 percent on 2017.
This year has been designated Visit Laos-China Year 2019, and according to Vientiane Times, the Laotian government aims to attract more than 1 million Chinese out of an expected total of 4.5 million visitors.
A series of events and activities has been planned to appeal specifically to Chinese tourists. These include a Chinese culture week, Mid-Autumn Festival performances and meetings on tourism management between the two countries. Signs in Chinese have also been installed at popular tourist sites.
In the first half of this year, more than 2.2 million people visited Laos, a year-on-year rise of about 5 percent, according to the country’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism. Vientiane Times cited officials as saying this growth can be attributed to the tourism campaign.
Siphone, the tour guide, said the majority of his clients come from local and European markets, and Chinese visitors account for only about 2 percent of his business each year.
While conceding that the proportion is still very small, Siphone is optimistic about the growing number of Chinese tourists in Laos, and is hoping to increase cooperation with Chinese travel agents.
Zhou Tong, co-founder of Qyer, a Chinese travel platform for social networking and services, said Laos is attractive for Chinese visitors because of its “unique” tourism resources in all aspects, including religion, culture and nature.
For example, in Luang Prabang, the long-standing tradition of Sai Bat, or morning alms, is a must-see ceremony for tourists. Every morning, Buddhist monks dressed in saffron-colored robes walk barefoot through the ancient town, collecting sticky rice from locals and travelers lining the streets before dawn.
Zhou said, “Whether you choose to visit the golden Buddhist stupa Pha That Luang in Vientiane, take a walk in a forest or a boat trip to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the banks of the Mekong River, visitors will always have an unforgettable time in Laos.”
In March, Qyer and the China Tourism Academy published an online guide for Chinese visitors to Laos as part of a tourism cooperation program linked to the Belt and Road Initiative. The guide has been downloaded more than 300,000 times.
Zhou said the initiative has provided new opportunities for the tourism industries in all countries taking part, adding, “Laos, as an important destination and a neighbor of China, has huge potential for developing its tourism industry.”
By December 2021, a Sino-Laotian railway project, connecting the Mohan-Boten border gate in northern Laos with the capital Vientiane, is expected to be fully operational. Zhou said the 414-kilometer link will provide tourists with a new travel option.
In January, President Xi Jinping said he hoped the two countries would seize the opportunities brought by Visit Laos-China Year 2019.
Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying these opportunities can expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and consolidate the public and social basis for building a China-Laos community of shared future.
Travel guide Siphone also expects significant opportunities to result from the new rail link. But he said a key challenge is that many tourists from China traveling to Laos rely on Chinese travel companies, leaving little scope for local travel agents and product suppliers to benefit from growth in this market.
Chinese visitors choose travel agents in their own country mainly due to language barriers and a lack of confidence in companies based in Laos, Siphone said.
Vientiane Times quoted Saleum Khamphengvong, vice-president of the Lao Association of Travel Agents, as saying the industry has a shortage of tour guides who can speak foreign languages, including Chinese.
But Siphone said travel companies in Laos actually have an advantage in providing quality services and products, based on their deep understanding of the local market, adding that trained Chinese-speaking guides are easy to find in the country.
“I think local travel agents in Laos should work closely with their Chinese counterparts in the future,” Siphone said. “We are well prepared to provide services to tourists from China.”