Champassak eyes five star hotels for luxury tourism market
Champassak eyes five star hotels for luxury tourism market
Champassak province is searching for investors interested in the construction of luxury five- star hotels or the refurbishment of existing hotels up to international standards in a bid to attract more high-end tourists to the province.
Deputy Director of the Champassa k Tourism Department Ms Mala Chanthalamtold said investment in hotels and guesthouses had risen steadily each year, thanks to the growth of the tourism sector and the improvement of other facilities.
In the first six months of this year, the province experienced a 43 percent increase in the number of visitors, who come to see natural attractions such as the Four Thousand Islands, the Bolaven Plateu and the world heritage listed Vat Phou Champassak.
Presently, there are 64 hotels, 250 guesthouses and 12 resorts in Champassak province while another 10 hotels are under construction but currently the province lacks any five star hotels to attract big spending tourists in search of luxury.
Champassak province has an abundance of natural and historical attractions to offer visitors but the lack of luxury accommodation prevents it from attracting the kind of affluent travellers which frequent world heritage listed Luang Prabang.
Ms Mala said currently, the province attracts mainly backpackers enroute to the Four Thousand Islands but it would like to try and attract more affluent tourists as well, who spend large amounts of money in the short periods of time they normally stay.
She said the province will welcome foreign investors to build new five star hotels as well as continue to improve and refurbish existing hotels and guesthouses in line with international standards and to prepare for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015
The department is looking to encourage hotels and guesthouses to prepare improvements in terms of the services they offer, their cleanliness and the quality of food they serve.
Ms Mala said it was also necessary for hotel managers be trained in service standards if they wish to respond to high competition in the next five years.
She added that family businesses such as smaller hotels and guesthouses had plenty to gain by lifting their service standards to meet with tourists' expectations.
Ms Mala said she believed that Champassak had the potential to become the centre of southern tourism, servicing both medium and high-end tourists if hotel and guesthouse standards are lifted to appropriate standards.
The department recently received Swiss funding towards training for hotel staff and advice on how to manage hotel businesses including service standards and food cooking standards, which will contribute to the improvement of the local tourism industry.
The department is currently setting up its strategy for the next five years and officials believe the province should have least one five star hotel, to accommodate wealthy individuals and foreign business people.
vientiane times
