Vientiane (VNA) – The tourism sector in Laos has experienced a rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic and is steadily growing after most countries lifted travel bans and Laos also opened its borders to tourists.

The Laos- China high-speed railway is also proving to be an attraction and a convenient mode of transport for tourists, serving a record of 10,000 passengers in a single day on March 4.

Vilayvone Chanthalaty, Director of the Vientiane Information, Culture, and Tourism Department, said more than 600,000 international tourists visited the Lao capital in 2022, double the expected number of 300,000 visitors. Encouraged by the last year’s tourism figures, the Lao Government plans to lure over 500,000 foreign travelers to Vientiane in 2023.

The director emphasised that in order to achieve the set targets, the Department of Tourism in Vientiane Capital will work with all relevant parties to organize many activities to promote tourism, especially for the upcoming Lao New Year.

Not only Vientiane, other provinces such as Luang Prabang has also seen hotels at full capacity thanks to a tourist influx from China recently.

The Laos government expects to welcome 1.4 million foreign visitors and generate more than 340 million USD in revenue in 2023./.