ADB funds tourism infrastructure
ADB funds tourism infrastructure
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a major loan for the Lao government to finance a project to upgrade tourism infrastructure in the country.
According to a media release from the international financial institution published earlier this week, the bank will provide a US$40 million loan for the US$43.57 million project, with the remainder provided by the Lao government. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism will implement the project.
The project will focus on paving rural roads to open new areas for tourism, improve access to markets and social services, improve environmental conditions in areas important for tourism, and support the expansion of small and medium-d tourism businesses, the media release highlights.
Under the ADB funded project, the Lao tourism industry could generate an additional US$330 million in earnings and 27,000 new jobs, the bank estimates.
“The project will catalyse additional private sector investment in tourism infrastructure and services, boost tourist spending and related job creation in underdeveloped areas, and ensure that tourism growth is environmentally and socially sustainable,” Sandra Nicoll, Country Director, ADB Laos Resident Mission said as quoted in the media release.
The four project provinces Champassak, Khammuan, Luang Prabang and Oudomxay are expected to accrue the extra revenue and generate the new jobs over the next 10 years, the bank says.
International tourist arrivals in Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries increased by more than 12 percent and generated close to US$50 billion in receipts in 2013. Though tourist arrivals are growing steadily in Laos, the country has largely missed out on these gains due chiefly to under investment in tourism infrastructure beyond the major tourism gateways, according the bank.
Tourism growth is currently concentrated in Vientiane, with limited development of tourism enterprises and few benefits reaching less developed areas. Visitors to Laos spend an average US$154 during their stay, the lowest in the GMS. Women hold half of tourism jobs, but most are low-skilled and low-paid.
Laos is one of the top tourist destinations in the Asia. The country has two world heritage sites of Luang Prabang and Vat Phou Champassak, and offers foreign visitors opportunities to explore unique cultural and environmental attractions amid growing modernisation in the region. The nation's people are one of its greatest tourism assets with visitors finding the landlocked country a very welcoming destination.
vientiane times
