Vietnamese tourists rank second for visitor numbers to Laos
VOV.VN - The number of foreign tourists visiting Laos reached over 1.6 million during the first half of this year, exceeding its annual target of 1.4 million, with Thailand continuing to top the list of tourist arrivals, followed by Vietnam.
According to the latest report issued by the Laos Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, visitors from Thailand led the list with 668,000, followed by Vietnam with 339,000, China with 317,000, and the Republic of Korea with 73,000.
Most notably, ASEAN member states saw the highest number of tourists keen to travel to Laos at nearly 1.1 million arrivals. Along with visitors from ASEAN, the neighbouring country also welcomed 427,000, 100,000, and 41,000 arrivals from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the United States, respectively.
This comes amid many famous publications worldwide, including Australian Travel Publication, National Geographic, CNN, Wanderlust, and Fodor's, recently featuring Laos among the list of the top attractive destinations this year, resulting in an increase in the number of international travelers over recent times.
The welcoming of over 1.6 million visitors during the first six months of this year reflects that the Laotian tourism industry is recovering quickly, with Laos’ Government planning to receive more than two million foreign arrivals by the end of the year.
They have also set the target of drawing four million foreign arrivals next year, with this likely to generate a total of US$712 million in 2024.