Champassak boosts tourism cooperation with Vietnam

Champassak boosts tourism cooperation with Vietnam

Posted by LV on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 · Leave a Comment

The tourism associations of Champassak province and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam have boosted cooperation on service improvement to encourage growth in visitor numbers.

“Champassak had more than 300,000 visitors last year, 55 percent of which were from Thailand with the next highest amount from Vietnam,” Champassak provincial Association of Travel Agents President Ms Somleth Phosalath said yesterday.

“I think the quantity of visitors to Champassak will increase by an additional 15 to 20 percent this year.”

The province had over 258,100 visitors in 2008 and over 270,000 visitors in 2009. During these periods, over 60 percent were from Thailand and the majority of the rest from Europe, Japan and Vietnam.

In the past, people from Vietnam constituted only about 5 percent of all visitors to the province.

“However, Vietnam now accounts for the second largest number of visitors,” Ms Somleth said. Champassak provincial Tourism Association staff are working with their Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association counterparts to boost the numbers of visitors coming from Vietnam to Laos.

The two associations signed a tourism development cooperation agreement in 2009 in Pakxe district, Champassak province, to explore opportunities brought about by the increased number of businesspeople and investors travelling between Laos and Vietnam.

In the past, the number of visitors between Vietnam and Champassak has been low due to limited road transportation between the two destinations.

However, under the agreement, the associations are cooperating to arrange package tours, study and survey tourism sites and improve transport routes by road and air.

The two associations aim to help each other with tourism business operations through the exchange of information and training to build capacity and strengthen their respective tourism sectors.

The two parties also plan to upgrade skills, share experiences and increase the number of tourism staff working in Champassak province.

“Currently we do not have enough staff who can speak Vietnamese,” Ms Somleth said.

Cooperation activities include training tour guides, and hotel and restaurant personnel in both Laos and Vietnam, as well as sending delegations to a tourism fair in Vietnam.

In Champassak, there are many people who can speak Vietnamese, but few of them work in tourism, Ms Somleth noted.

“We will continue to cooperate due to the increased interest shown by people in Vietnam in getting to know Laos and wanting to travel to Champassak,” she said.

Lao Airlines resumed its air route between Vientiane, Pakxe and Ho Chi Minh City in January, in what Ms Somleth said will provide “good facilitation for our sector”.

The flights aim to promote increased growth in tourism, better trade opportunities and flow of goods and services between Laos and Vietnam through reduced travel time.

Many tourists are attracted to Laos’ numerous natural and historic sites, while others see the opportunity to engage in business in the country due to its rich natural resources.

Source - laovoices