Luang Prabang eyes GDP growth
Luang Prabang eyes GDP growth
Amid a booming service sector, Luang Prabang province expects to see its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grow by 0.3 percent next year.
This year the province's GDP increased to 8.2 percent and plans for next year are targeting 8.5 percent, it was reported at the annual meeting of the provincial Planning and Investment Department on Tuesday.
Next year's plan aims for service sector growth of 11 percent or about 2.43 trillion kip, equal to 43.6 percent of GDP, department Director Mr Bounlouan Singnakhone said.
Other targets set growth in the agriculture and forestry sector at 3.5 percent or 1,858 billion kip, equal to 33.4 percent of total GDP, while the target growth for industry and handicrafts is 12 percent or 1,254 billion kip, comprising 23 percent of GDP.
Meanwhile, annual per capita income should rise to about 12.2 million kip, equal to US$1,500, Mr Bounlouan said.
To reach this target, the province requires almost 2 trillion kip or 34 percent of GDP for development. Of this, 5 percent will be sourced from government investment, 20 percent from private domestic investment, 30 percent from private foreign investment, 25 percent from loans and grants, and 20 percent from banks and the general public.
Investment in the service sector, notably in hotels, guesthouses and restaurants, is increasing due to the large number of tourists coming to the province, according to the Information, Culture and Tourism Department.
Luang Prabang province expects revenue to exceed 1.41 trillion kip in the next five years with tourism operations and flow-on growth in other sectors being the main sources.
This figure is based on the expectation of collecting 85-90 percent of taxes and duty owed by the trade and service sectors, according to the province's Finance Department.
However, the province is still struggling to collect the full amount of revenue owed from taxes and duties, Mr Bounlouan said.
Revenue currently obtained from these sources is contributing only 3 percent of GDP growth, but Mr Bounlouan was unable to give an explanation for this.
In 2013, overseas tourist arrivals in Luang Prabang climbed to 343,000 people and the province has set an ambitious goal for tourist arrivals to hit 500,000 this year.
In the first quarter of the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Luang Prabang increased by 24 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
vientiane times
