Internet penetration and social media use increased in Laos in 2023, with internet speeds increasing and more adoption of mobile phones.
Meltwater and We Are Social have revealed their joint global digital overview report for 2023, releasing digital information and data across the world, including Laos.
The population around the world using the internet has surged to 5.16 billion with 64.4 percent of the world’s total population now online. Social media use has grown to 4.76 billion, while more than 5.44 billion people worldwide now use mobile phones, according to the report.
Laos
The state of digital in Laos 2023 report shows that 85% of the population are now mobile phone users, 62% of the population has access to the internet, and 44% of Lao people in Laos utilize social media.
Internet speeds average 28.33 Mbps in Laos, with a year-on-year increase in the speed of fixed internet connections by 20%.
The population of Laos has increased to 7.58 million in 2023, with the number of mobile phone connections increasing by 7.8% between 2022 and 2023, while the number of internet users has increased by 1.4%.
49% of the population is female and 50% of the population is male, while 37% of the population dwells in urban areas and 62% lives in rural areas.
Mobile phones dominate web traffic in Laos, at 14.2%, while 32.3 % of web traffic was downloaded to laptops and desktops, with 17.2% being accessed by tablet computers. No data was provided for other devices such as video game consoles.
The percentage of webpages provided to mobile phone browsers reached 78.9% at the end of last year.
Social Media Use
The overall number of active social media users in Laos was 3.35 million, or 44.2% of the population, with 2.95 million users aged 18 and above using social media in the country and 100% of users accessing social media through mobile devices.
Facebook‘s advertising reaches 3.20 million of the population, decreasing by -8.6% quarter on quarter and year-on-year. Some 53% of Facebook accounts in Laos are owned by females, while male users make up 46%.
Instagram records a smaller user base in Laos at just 488,000, with only 6.4% reachable by adverts on Instagram, decreasing by 8.1% quarter-on-quarter, or 20.3% year-on-year. Of these Instagram users, 58% are female while 41.2% are male.
Twitter estimates a total of 238,000 users in Laos with the potential ad reach growing by 61% with 3.1% of the population in Laos, 69% of which are female.
According to the report, there are 140,000 LinkedIn profiles in Laos, which represents just 1.8% of the population – 58% of these are women, while 41% are men.
Mobile Phone Use
According to the research, Laos has around 6.45 million mobile phone connections, making up 85% of the country’s total population. 87% of these mobile connections are broadband (3G – 5G).
According to GSMA Intelligence data, mobile connections in Laos climbed by seven percent between 2022 and 2023.
Android consumes the largest share of web traffic from mobile devices at 81.34%, while Apple IOS devices see an 18% share of web traffic in Laos.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/13/digital-2023-report-on-laos-released-internet-mobile-and-social-media/
Lao Airlines Ready to Restart Direct Flights to Danang
To make use of this new connectivity, tourism agencies in Laos and Vietnam will be organizing tour programs on this route for visitors from Laos who want to visit Danang, according to a spokesperson from Lao Airlines.
The airlines and tour operators organized a workshop earlier this month in Da Nang to prepare the flights and discuss ways to promote tourism between the two countries.
Viet Nam News reports that Danang’s tourism department said the direct flight would help boost tourism connections among world heritage sites in central Vietnam and destinations in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
Lao Airlines announced last month that it would be restarting direct flights between Vientiane and Danang on Thursdays and Sundays every week starting on 30 March.
The airlines flew to Danang on a Vientiane-Savannakhet-Pakse-Danang route earlier, but the service was suspended because of low demand in 2012, and plans to resume service in 2020 were canceled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/16/laos-airlines-ready-to-restart-direct-flights-to-da-nang/
Cambodian Delegation Visits Laos to Boost Bilateral Tourism
Lao and Cambodian officials met on Monday in Vientiane to sign an MoU, aimed at improving the standards of tourism personnel and attracting more investments to increase bilateral tourism between the two nations.
The event was attended by the Director General of the Tourism Marketing Department of Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Khom Douangchantha along with Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation, Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr. Thong Rathasak. Also present was Laos’ Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mrs Suanesavanh Vignaket and Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism, Dr Thong Khon.
During the event, Mrs. Suanesavanh spoke about Laos’ willingness to increase tourism and strengthen cooperation in the development of natural resources in the tourism sector.
Both ministries agreed to initiate a promotional campaign titled, “Two Countries, One Destination” to aid in their efforts.
As part of the plans laid out by the respective travel ministries, more flights to popular tourist destinations between both countries will be encouraged to increase connectivity and ease of travel. The two countries will attempt to streamline land-border crossings so that they are a convenient option for tourists and less time-consuming.
The possibility of linking tourist destinations by conducting Mekong River cruises will be explored as well, reports Vientiane Times. A Cambodia-Laos Cycling Rally, and other running events, are also on the cards as part of the 66th anniversary of Cambodia-Laos diplomatic relations.
Additionally, Laos and Cambodia are looking at doing a joint promotion of community-based and culinary tourism by hosting food festivals in each country.
The Cambodian delegation was on an official visit to Vientiane between March 12-15 after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s two-day trip in February during which he discussed increasing cooperation in the area of tourism with Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/15/cambodian-delegation-in-laos-to-boost-bilateral-tourism/
Digital 2023 Report on Laos Released: Internet, Mobile, and Social Media
Internet penetration and social media use increased in Laos in 2023, with internet speeds increasing and more adoption of mobile phones.
Meltwater and We Are Social have revealed their joint global digital overview report for 2023, releasing digital information and data across the world, including Laos.
The population around the world using the internet has surged to 5.16 billion with 64.4 percent of the world’s total population now online. Social media use has grown to 4.76 billion, while more than 5.44 billion people worldwide now use mobile phones, according to the report.
Laos
The state of digital in Laos 2023 report shows that 85% of the population are now mobile phone users, 62% of the population has access to the internet, and 44% of Lao people in Laos utilize social media.
Internet speeds average 28.33 Mbps in Laos, with a year-on-year increase in the speed of fixed internet connections by 20%.
The population of Laos has increased to 7.58 million in 2023, with the number of mobile phone connections increasing by 7.8% between 2022 and 2023, while the number of internet users has increased by 1.4%.
49% of the population is female and 50% of the population is male, while 37% of the population dwells in urban areas and 62% lives in rural areas.
Mobile phones dominate web traffic in Laos, at 14.2%, while 32.3 % of web traffic was downloaded to laptops and desktops, with 17.2% being accessed by tablet computers. No data was provided for other devices such as video game consoles.
The percentage of webpages provided to mobile phone browsers reached 78.9% at the end of last year.
Social Media Use
The overall number of active social media users in Laos was 3.35 million, or 44.2% of the population, with 2.95 million users aged 18 and above using social media in the country and 100% of users accessing social media through mobile devices.
Facebook‘s advertising reaches 3.20 million of the population, decreasing by -8.6% quarter on quarter and year-on-year. Some 53% of Facebook accounts in Laos are owned by females, while male users make up 46%.
Instagram records a smaller user base in Laos at just 488,000, with only 6.4% reachable by adverts on Instagram, decreasing by 8.1% quarter-on-quarter, or 20.3% year-on-year. Of these Instagram users, 58% are female while 41.2% are male.
Twitter estimates a total of 238,000 users in Laos with the potential ad reach growing by 61% with 3.1% of the population in Laos, 69% of which are female.
According to the report, there are 140,000 LinkedIn profiles in Laos, which represents just 1.8% of the population – 58% of these are women, while 41% are men.
Mobile Phone Use
According to the research, Laos has around 6.45 million mobile phone connections, making up 85% of the country’s total population. 87% of these mobile connections are broadband (3G – 5G).
According to GSMA Intelligence data, mobile connections in Laos climbed by seven percent between 2022 and 2023.
Android consumes the largest share of web traffic from mobile devices at 81.34%, while Apple IOS devices see an 18% share of web traffic in Laos.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/13/digital-2023-report-on-laos-released-internet-mobile-and-social-media/
Lao Airlines Plane Returns After Aircraft Collision in South Korea
A passenger plane from Lao Airlines flew back to Vientiane on Wednesday following a collision with a Korean airplane at Incheon International Airport three months ago.
The Airbus A320 aircraft with the registration number RDPL-34199 landed at Wattay International Airport on Wednesday.
It was grounded in South Korea after the Lao Airlines flight QV924 tail wing scraped the main wing of an Air Premia plane while waiting for take-off. The latter was being towed at the time.
No passengers, or airport personnel, were injured in the incident apart from the damage to the Lao Airlines flight.
Lao Airlines provided accommodation, food, and a special flight for passengers on the flight to fly back to Vientiane Capital.
The airlines also appointed a committee to be responsible for technical and insurance matters in compliance with the requirements of the Department of Civil Aviation of Laos and the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/09/lao-airlines-plane-returns-after-aircraft-collision-in-south-korea/
Over 600,000 Foreign Tourists Visited Vientiane Capital in 2022
More than 600,000 international tourists visited the capital of Laos in 2022, double the expected number of 300,000 visitors.
Encouraged by the tourism figures of last year, the government plans to attract over 500,000 overseas travelers to Vientiane Capital in 2023, said Ms. Vilayvone Chanthalaty, Director of the Vientiane Information, Culture, and Tourism Department in a recent interview.
The tourism sector in Laos is experiencing 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.
“From all the international tourists that visited Laos, we can see that the majority had come from Thailand and South Korea,” added Ms. Chanthalaty.
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 is Vientiane Capital seeing an influx of tourists, but other provinces such as Luang Prabang recently saw hotels at full capacity thanks to tourists from China.
The high-speed railway is also proving to be an attraction and a convenient mode of transport for tourists, and the railway just set a record of 10,000 passengers traveling on it in a single day last Saturday.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/07/over-600000-foreign-tourists-visited-vientiane-capital-in-2022/
Laos to Install More Immigration Checkpoints at First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge
The immigration authorities in Laos will construct a dozen more checkpoints before the Lao New Year next month at the First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge.
Vientiane Mai reports that the construction of 12 more checkpoint units will be completed in time to facilitate the return of Lao workers and visitors from Thailand during the Lao New Year.
Lt. Col Kidone Kivongxay, Deputy Head of Immigration Control at the First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, said in the interview that around 6,000 to 7,000 people enter and exit the bridge with 1,000 vehicles crossing over per day on public holidays or festivals.
To help in the effective movement of tourists and residents, several stores inside the immigration area have been removed to provide more space, and the installation of twelve more immigration checkpoints will conclude before next month. Also, the number of parking spots at the bridge will be increased during this time.
Immigration officials in Laos expect to see around 8,000 to 9,000 people crossing the border daily around the Lao New Year when there will be a total of 24 checkpoints in place to aid immigration procedures.
During his recent visit to Laos, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and former Lao PM Phankham Viphavanh, both expressed a desire to develop more friendship bridges between Laos and Thailand.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/07/laos-to-install-more-immigration-checkpoints-at-first-lao-thai-friendship-bridge/
Laos-China Railway Ticket Reservation App to Go Live This Month
he Laos-China Railway Company has announced that its long-awaited ticket reservation mobile application will go live from 15 March.
The mobile application, LCR Ticket, is already available for Apple devices on the app store and for Android devices in the Play store.
Visitors and locals alike have been eagerly awaiting the new mobile app since the announcement of its development on the first anniversary of the railway.
The mobile application will make booking train tickets for the Laos-China Railway much more convenient for passengers, allowing them to easily book and manage their journeys on their smartphones. The app will offer various ticket options, including first-class, second-class, and sleeper tickets. Additionally, it will provide information on train schedules, stations, and routes.
After purchasing a ticket via the app, physical tickets will be available at the railway station, while users can reserve a ticket seven days in advance.
Payment methods have yet to be confirmed by the company, but appear to include UnionPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay.
While the railway has been lauded as a groundbreaking and convenient new mode of transport, the Laos-China Railway Company suffered major setbacks throughout its first year of operations due to mismanagement of ticketing systems, leading to continued complaints from the public.
The new online ticketing system via the mobile application is expected to provide greater convenience, satisfying the public and easing the frustration of tour operators.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/06/laos-china-railway-ticket-reservation-app-to-go-live-this-month/
Laos-China Railway Sets Record With 10,000 Travelers in One Day
The Laos-China Railway made a new record when 10,000 passengers availed of its services on Saturday, marking the highest passenger transport record since the railway opened in December 2021.
According to a recent Laos-China railway report, the railway also transported 417,400 passengers in the first two months of 2023, which is a 256.2 percent increase over the same period last year.
The railway also ferried 647,700 tons of goods, a 320 percent increase over the same timeframe in 2022, indicating a positive trend in the transportation of passengers and goods.
The Laos-China railway has been monitoring the flow of passengers and organizing sufficient trains to provide services to support the volume of passengers and ensure their safe and convenient travel.
Additionally, the railway now allows more time for passengers to buy their tickets to ensure that they use the train as a preferred mode of transport. It also operates two EMU trains in a row to accommodate more travelers and has increased the number of normal-speed train carriages to 12.
For better customer service, the railway staff has also been trained to communicate in Chinese, English, Thai, and other languages required for international passenger services.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/06/laos-china-railway-sets-record-with-10000-passengers-traveling-in-one-day/
Luang Prabang Hotels on Full Capacity Thanks to Chinese Tourists
Following China’s lifting of international border restrictions last month after the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Laos has been on the rise, especially in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang Prabang where hotel room reservations are at an all-time high.
According to Vientiane Times, Vice President of the Hotel and Guesthouse Association in Luang Prabang province, Mr. Daophet Bouphaphanh, many Chinese visitors are entering Laos traveling in tempo travelers or private vehicles.
Some tourists have also been visiting and staying in Luang Prabang in motorhomes or campers causing concerns among residents of the peaceful town.
However, Mr. Daophet said that the provincial tourism authority is now working with other stakeholders to improve accommodation and hospitality services to handle a huge visitor influx while assuring that tourists have a great experience during their stay in the popular northern town.
Additionally, several hotels and restaurants in popular areas have started hiring staff who speak English and Chinese to communicate effectively with tourists as well.
Officials at Boten International Checkpoint in Luang Namtha also recently confirmed that many Chinese nationals have been entering Laos for tourism purposes since the reopening of the borders.
Last month, The Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism chaired by the Deputy Minister of Information of Culture, Mr. Ounthouang Khaophan hosted a forum to discuss Laos’ readiness for a prospective inflow of Chinese tourists, with input from various private sector and government authorities.
Laos expects about 368,000 Chinese tourists to visit the country this year.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/02/27/luang-prabang-hotels-on-full-capacity-thanks-to-chinese-tourists/
China Eases Covid Regulations for Travelers from Laos
The Embassy of the Republic of China to Laos has issued a statement to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform them that starting Wednesday, passengers from Laos will no longer need to provide a negative RT-PCR test result, as an Antigen test will be sufficient.
The statement from the Chinese Embassy stated, “From 1 March 2023, the Republic of China will allow passengers traveling from Laos to be able to enter the country after completing an ATK test, including tests conducted by the individual.”
“Passengers who have tested negative will be able to apply for a health form via QR from the Chinese customs authority, through the application WeChat,” the statement continued.
From 1 March onwards, authorized airlines will also no longer check for a PCR or ATK test for passengers flying to China.
PCR test or in medical terms, polymerase chain reaction, is a test to detect genetic material from a specific organism, such as a virus. This test must be carried out by medical professionals.
Whereas the ATK (antigen test kit) can be administered by the individual taking the test, although it could be less accurate than the PCR test.
Close to three years after the pandemic was first detected, countries around the world are starting to ease their Covid-19 regulations. Recently, Hong Kong lifted its mask mandate, ending the city’s last major restriction post-pandemic.
Source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/03/01/china-eases-covid-regulations-for-travelers-from-laos/