Vientiane holds top spot in accommodation rankings
Vientiane holds top spot in accommodation rankings
Vientiane has the largest number of hotels and guesthouses, with 430 in existence in 2014, according to a recent report from the Tourism Development Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
The report also showed an overall increase in the number of hotels and guesthouses nationwide, with numbers rising from 2,359 in 2013 to 2,397 in 2014. Room numbers nationwide also rose, from 37,808 rooms in 2013 to 44,687 room s in 2014.
Vientiane has the largest number of rooms with 11,923 while the World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang is in second place with 312 hotels and guesthouse and 5,634 rooms.
Ranked by province, Vientiane has 285 hotels and guesthouses with 4,952 rooms, Champassak has 241 hotels and guesthouses with 4,260 rooms, Savannakhet has 189 hotels and guesthouses with 4,268 rooms and Khammuan has 111 hotels and guesthouses with 1,726 rooms.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the list, the newly created province of Xaysomboun has just 12 hotels and guesthouses with 125 rooms.
The statistics recorded the number of hotels and guesthouses from 2008 to 2014, showing an annual increase.
The increase is attributed to a strong commitment by the Party and state to promote tourism as it has the potential to become a major source of income to power development and raise Laos from Least Developed Country status.
Tourist numbers have of course also surged during the period 1990 to 2014.
In 1990, only 14,400 visitors were recorded but since 1993 the number of tourists has increased year by year, reaching 4.15 million visitors in 2014.
In 2014 the tourism sector generated about US$641 million and continues to be the second largest source of revenue after mining, which generated US$1.56 billion in fiscal year 2013-2014.
Laos currently has three hotels that are certified as five-star category by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism - Lao Plaza Hotel, Green Park Boutique Hotel and Don Chan Palace.
