Tourism in Laos

Tourism is the fastest growing industry in Laos. It is governed by a ministry-level government agency, the Lao National Tourism Administration, located in Vientiane.

Statistics

Annual statistics

Year	Tourism Arrivals	changes	references
2012	3,330,072	22.27%
2011	2,723,564	14.9%

Ranking of International Visitor arrivals in Laos

Rank	country	2012	2011
*	ASEAN	2,712,478	-
1	Thailand	1,937,612	1,579,941
2	Vietnam	705,596	561,586
3	China	199,857	150,791
4	South Korea	53,829	34,707
5	United States	53,380	50,092
6	France	46,903	44,399
7	Japan	42,026	37,883
8	United Kingdom	35,964	35,622
9	Australia	33,878	31,874
10	Germany	23,417	21,280

Tourist attractions

Vientiane

Refer to main article Vientiane.

• Buddha Park
• Haw Phra Kaew
• Lao National Museum
• Patuxai
• Pha That Luang
• That Dam
• Wat Si Saket
• Wat Si Muang

Luang Prabang

Refer to main article Luang Prabang

• Haw Kham
• Wat Xieng Thong
• Grave site of Henri Mouhot
• Pak Ou Caves

Xieng Khouang- The Plain of Jars

Xiengkhouang Province is home to Plain of Jars and part of Laos Northern Heritage Route (together with Luang Prabang, Houapan and Sayabouri). With its pine forests and much cooler climate it the plateau is different to other regions in Laos or South East Asia. The Jars are Iron Age cemetery sites with a beautiful minimalistic aesthetics that due to their ubiquitousness could also be considered land art. More recently the province took most of the burden of the so-called Secret War. Many of the sites can be visited. The province can be explored individually by motorbike or by booking one of many tours on offer in Vientiane, Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng. Standard tours visit the major jar sites and the once magnificent capital of Muang Khoun. There are also much more interesting ecotourism and culture tours that have been developed together with UNESCO, Helvetas or DED such as a two day trek to the remote Hmong village Ban Phakeo or a one day trek to Ban Napia and Ban Namka to learn about sustainable energy and the making of “War Spoons” from UXO war scrap. Refer to Phonsavan for detailed information about what to do and how to get there.

• Plain of Jars
• Phonsavan Main article for history, attractions, activities and natural sites in Xiengkhouang Province

Champasak

Refer to main article Champasak Province

• Champasak Provincial Museum
• Wat Phu

Vang Vieng

Refer to main article Vang Vieng.

Ecotourism

In many Lao provinces you can get off the beaten track and book package tours from local agencies or the tourism offices. You can experience the real village life or do elephant trekking among other things. The best places for trekking are Luang Namtha and Phongsaly. For a combination of history and village culture go trekking around Phonsavan.

• Ban Nalan Trail

External links

• Laos Cultural Profile (Ministry of Information and Culture/Visiting Arts)
• The official Laos Tourism Authority site
• Laos virtual tour
• Laos Tourism Video