Lao travel agents eye outbound tourism market
Lao travel agents eye outbound tourism market
A number of local travel agents have adjusted their business strategi es after realising more Lao people are becoming wealthy enough to afford overseas travel.
Travel agents are now placing advertisements in newspapers, online publications and popular sites such as Facebook promoting holiday destinations in foreign countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan and various European nations.
President of the Lao Association of Travel Agents Mr Khamtan Kheungpanya told Vientiane Times yesterday many Lao people now have higher incomes and are able to travel overseas thanks to strong economic growth in the landlocked country over the past seven years.
The Lao economy has seen at least 7.5 percent annual growth from 2000 to 2011, which rose to 8 percent over the period from 2011 to 2013.
Looking forward the Lao economy is projected to moderate to 7.8 percent growth this year but will recover to 8 percent from next year to 2016. The robust economic growth has created many jobs and rising in comes for Lao people in recent years.
Recognising this, the World Bank categorised Laos as one of the lower middle-income earners in the region two years ago thanks to booming resource-based economic growth.
The increasing incomes of many well-off Lao people have created opportunities for travel agents to sell overseas package tours to middle and high-income earners seeking to experience holiday destinations abroad.
In the past, most travel agents focused solely on selling package tours to holidaymakers wanting to visit La os but in the last couple of years this has changed thanks to increasing domestic spending capacity.
Mr Khamtan said it was time for the travel businesses to adjust their strategies, adding that Laos' integration with Asean would see more Lao people wanting to travel overseas, often for business, and then holidaying afterwards.
He said the prices of the outbound travel package tours are comparatively cheap, making it possible for the businesses to attract customers.
According to travel agency staff, the price of the package tours targeting Lao people travelling overseas range from US$500 per person to US$3500 depending on the distance and cost of living in the destination country.
Malaysia and Singapore are among the countries that many Lao people want to visit thanks to the affordable price of the package tours.
The increasing number of Lao people travelling overseas has also been influenced by the establishment of direct flights to other countries in the region. Laos has opened direct flights to Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.
According to a report from the Tourism Development Department, the number of Lao people travelling abroad reached 2.8 million last year, increasing from 2 million in 2012.
However the vast bulk of that figure represents people crossing over to neighbouring countries using border passes. The department did not specify how many people were travelling further afield.
At present, there are 275 travel agents in Laos and most of them are located in the capital Vientiane.
vientiane times
