The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has relaxed its travel advice for a number of countries, listing the risk of travel to Laos as very low.
Since March, the CDC warned US travelers to avoid non-essential travel to all international locations, however, it revised its advice last month to include 20 countries where the risk of Covid-19 is “low” or “very low.”
The State Department also lifted its unilateral “Do Not Travel” advisory in accordance with the new list of low-risk countries.
The CDC has a list of 13 destinations where the ‘COVID-19 Risk is Very Low,’ on which Laos appears, alongside the British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, Greenland, Macau SAR, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.
Neighboring Thailand appears on the CDC’s low-risk list, while Vietnam now appears on the high-risk list following its recent outbreak in Danang.
Many countries have closed their doors to US arrivals, as the nation leads the world in Covid-19 occurrences.
With 20 confirmed cases, Laos is taking no chances for a second wave of Covid-19. The country has implemented strict preventative measures, including limited immigration, and mandatory testing and quarantine for those who enter the country.
International tourist arrivals in Laos during the first six months of this year have dropped sixty percent compared to the same period last year.
Laos confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on 24 March, going into full lockdown on 30 March, with measures prohibiting residents from leaving their homes except for essential tasks. International and customary borders were closed, and interprovincial travel was banned. Hotels and restaurants were authorized to continue operations, however, restrictions on travel forced most to close down temporarily or permanently.
Despite a lifting of certain lockdown measures and an initial victory declared over Covid-19 in June, the impact on the economy is expected to be disastrous, while unemployment has jumped to 25%.
The Vientiane Times quotes an internal report by the Department of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism as showing that international visitor numbers have fallen from 2,228,459 in January to June 2019, to just 886,447 in the first six months of this year.
According to the report, visitors from ASEAN member countries fell by 62%, with visitor numbers from Thailand falling by more than half.
Vietnamese arrivals dropped 60%, while the number of Chinese tourists dropped by 46%, and visitors from South Korea dropped 14%.
Lao Visits Laos
While the tourism industry in Laos has been affected by the loss of international arrivals, a domestic tourism campaign is beginning to take shape.
First announced informally late last year, the idea of promoting domestic tourism predates the Covid-19 pandemic, however, it has become all the more pertinent amid the current economic downturn.
“Industry leaders are likely to collaborate on special promotions, combining flights and accommodation or meals to attract tourists from within the country,” says Jason Rolan, Senior Partner at RDK Group, a marketing and consulting firm specializing in tourism.
While little has been confirmed in regard to the upcoming campaign except for its working title, “Lao Visits Laos,” it is believed that the campaign will bring together stakeholders from across the tourism and hospitality sector in a combined push to stimulate the sector.
https://www.tourismlaos.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Exploration-and-Variety.jpg10001500Sylivanla Vongphachanhhttps://www.tourismlaos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lao-Simply-Beautiful-.webpSylivanla Vongphachanh2020-08-10 15:49:462020-08-10 15:49:48Domestic Tourists Targeted for Laos as International Arrivals Plummet
As part of its efforts to support the recovery of the tourism sector, Tripadvisor has today announced the winners of its 18th annual Travelers’ Choice Awards.
Each year, Tripadvisor puts together all the reviews, ratings, and saves that travelers share from across the globe and uses the information to spotlight the best.
This major award program recognizes the favorite hotels, restaurants, and airlines of travelers around the world, with 4,817 unique businesses celebrated in 2020.
With over 8.7 million businesses listed on Tripadvisor, winners have been determined based on the consistency and quantity of the millions of comments, feedback, and ratings received on Tripadvisor in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lao Airlines shared its top regional airline status with THAI Smile Airways, Air Astana, AIR KBZ, Azerbaijan Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Druk Air, Royal Brunei Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Starflyer, and Vistara.
The top review shared by Tripadvisor for Lao Airlines was by Tripadvisor user Mike1946, which read,
“EXCELLENT FLIGHT, AND SERVICE AND SPOTLESSLY CLEAN PLANE.”
“Although only a short flight it was an excellent one, with a spotlessly clean plane, excellent service from the crew. No delays, and very good check-in and check out.”Lao Airlines appointed Mr. Khamla Phommavanh as its new president in April, with a handover ceremony held at Lao Airlines headquarters.It is expected that Mr. Khamla will steer the airline through the Covid-19 crises, and revamp and revitalize the airline as international flights begin to restart.
https://www.tourismlaos.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Lao-Airlines-Wins-Tripadvisor-Travelers-Choice-Award-1.jpg6271200Sylivanla Vongphachanhhttps://www.tourismlaos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lao-Simply-Beautiful-.webpSylivanla Vongphachanh2020-08-10 15:36:092020-08-10 15:37:55Lao Airlines Among Tripadvisor Award Winners for Best Regional Airlines
CDC Relaxes Travel Advice for Laos
Since March, the CDC warned US travelers to avoid non-essential travel to all international locations, however, it revised its advice last month to include 20 countries where the risk of Covid-19 is “low” or “very low.”
The State Department also lifted its unilateral “Do Not Travel” advisory in accordance with the new list of low-risk countries.
The CDC has a list of 13 destinations where the ‘COVID-19 Risk is Very Low,’ on which Laos appears, alongside the British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, Greenland, Macau SAR, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.
Neighboring Thailand appears on the CDC’s low-risk list, while Vietnam now appears on the high-risk list following its recent outbreak in Danang.
Many countries have closed their doors to US arrivals, as the nation leads the world in Covid-19 occurrences.
With 20 confirmed cases, Laos is taking no chances for a second wave of Covid-19. The country has implemented strict preventative measures, including limited immigration, and mandatory testing and quarantine for those who enter the country.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2020/08/14/cdc-relaxes-travel-advice-for-laos/
Domestic Tourists Targeted for Laos as International Arrivals Plummet
International tourist arrivals in Laos during the first six months of this year have dropped sixty percent compared to the same period last year.
Laos confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on 24 March, going into full lockdown on 30 March, with measures prohibiting residents from leaving their homes except for essential tasks. International and customary borders were closed, and interprovincial travel was
banned. Hotels and restaurants were authorized to continue operations, however, restrictions on travel forced most to close down temporarily or permanently.
Despite a lifting of certain lockdown measures and an initial victory declared over Covid-19 in June, the impact on the economy is expected to be disastrous, while unemployment has jumped to 25%.
The Vientiane Times quotes an internal report by the Department of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism as showing that international visitor numbers have fallen from 2,228,459 in January to June 2019, to just 886,447 in the first six months of this year.
According to the report, visitors from ASEAN member countries fell by 62%, with visitor numbers from Thailand falling by more than half.
Vietnamese arrivals dropped 60%, while the number of Chinese tourists dropped by 46%, and visitors from South Korea dropped 14%.
Lao Visits Laos
While the tourism industry in Laos has been affected by the loss of international arrivals, a domestic tourism campaign is beginning to take shape.
First announced informally late last year, the idea of promoting domestic tourism predates the Covid-19 pandemic, however, it has become all the more pertinent amid the current economic downturn.
“Industry leaders are likely to collaborate on special promotions, combining flights and accommodation or meals to attract tourists from within the country,” says Jason Rolan, Senior Partner at RDK Group, a marketing and consulting firm specializing in tourism.
While little has been confirmed in regard to the upcoming campaign except for its working title, “Lao Visits Laos,” it is believed that the campaign will bring together stakeholders from across the tourism and hospitality sector in a combined push to stimulate the sector.
Lao Airlines Among Tripadvisor Award Winners for Best Regional Airlines
Lao Airlines has been rated one of the top regional airlines in Asia as part of the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards this year.
National carrier of Laos, Lao Airlines, is among the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awardwinners under the Best Regional Airline category.
As part of its efforts to support the recovery of the tourism sector, Tripadvisor has today announced the winners of its 18th annual Travelers’ Choice Awards.
Each year, Tripadvisor puts together all the reviews, ratings, and saves that travelers share from across the globe and uses the information to spotlight the best.
This major award program recognizes the favorite hotels, restaurants, and airlines of travelers around the world, with 4,817 unique businesses celebrated in 2020.
With over 8.7 million businesses listed on Tripadvisor, winners have been determined based on the consistency and quantity of the millions of comments, feedback, and ratings received on Tripadvisor in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lao Airlines shared its top regional airline status with THAI Smile Airways, Air Astana, AIR KBZ, Azerbaijan Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Druk Air, Royal Brunei Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Starflyer, and Vistara.
The top review shared by Tripadvisor for Lao Airlines was by Tripadvisor user Mike1946, which read,
“Although only a short flight it was an excellent one, with a spotlessly clean plane, excellent service from the crew. No delays, and very good check-in and check out.”Lao Airlines appointed Mr. Khamla Phommavanh as its new president in April, with a handover ceremony held at Lao Airlines headquarters.It is expected that Mr. Khamla will steer the airline through the Covid-19 crises, and revamp and revitalize the airline as international flights begin to restart.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2020/08/04/lao-airlines-among-tripadvisor-award-winners-for-best-regional-airlines/