Tourism drives service sector growth
Tourism drives service sector growth
Tourism is playing a significant role to boost the growth of the service sector in Laos, according to a report from the Lao National Economic Research Institute.
The institute unveiled the Lao Economic Outlook earlier this month, showing that the Lao service sector, one of the three economic foundations of the landlocked country, saw 12.8 percent growth last year.
The government expected earlier that the service sector would only see 10.64 percent growth.
The rapid increase of the service sector was made possible with tourism as the main driving force, the annual outlook highlighted. In 2013, 3.8 million tourists visited Laos, generating income of around US$642 million, representing some 6 percent of national GDP.
Approximately 80 percent of the tourists visiting Laos in 2013 were from Asia and the Pacific, in particular Thailand. The European market contributed 5.6 percent of tourists while the US and Canadian markets contributed 2.2 percent of the total tourists.
The average number of days a tourist stayed in Laos was 8.4, while they each spent an average of US$69.50 per day.
The continued increase of tourist arrivals in Laos created better conditions for local and foreign business people to invest in the tourism industry. The number of hotels nationwide in 2013 was 491, increasing from 457, while the number of restaurants nationwide was 1,744 increasing from 1,590 in 2012.
The number of guest houses and resorts also jumped to 1,868 units from 1,788 units while the number of entertainment venues reached 410, up from 345 the year before.
There have also been a number of international events, which boosted the Lao tourism industry over recent years, including the hosting of the South East Asian Games in 2009 and the celebration of the 450th anniversary of Vientiane as the capital of Laos.
Laos also hosted the Asia-Europe meeting which helped to boost the tourism industry and in 2013 Laos was named as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.
Retail sales, transport and banking were also seen as key driving forces of service sector growth after the government implemented policies to integrate its economy with the international community, creating better conditions for local and foreign investors to run businesses in the country.
Laos has become a member of the World Trade Organisation and will be a part of the Asean Economic Community, making the region one single market and one production base next year.
In 2013, the industrial sector saw a slight slow down as a number of hydropower projects were not completed as planned. The halt of gold production at Sepon also caused a slow down in the sector. The agriculture sector also saw a slow down as rice cultivation missed its target.
The Lao National Economic Research Institute reported that in 2013 the Lao economy saw 8.3 percent growth but predicted that it will moderate to 7.8 percent this year.
vientiane times
