Impacts of COVID-19 on Tourism in the Lao PDR

In 2024 the Government of the Lao PDR launches Visit Laos Year, which it hopes will attract at least 4.6 million tourists to the country. This represents a significant economic opportunity: tourism already accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, while the World Bank estimates that tourism can grow to about 10 percent of GDP with the right investments and reforms.

COVID-19 disrupted the global tourism industry, and one of the biggest challenges facing the Lao tourism sector is a lack of market intelligence regarding the changing nature of tourism markets. Such intelligence can help the Lao government improve tourism marketing strategies, products, and service standards to meet the needs of visitors from different markets.

This new World Bank report provides such market intelligence. It identifies three areas of focus for Lao tourism post-COVID-19: market monitoring; skills development; and targeted marketing and promotion. It also recommends the following priority actions:

• Conduct regular surveys to collect statistics on demand, supply, and social and environmental impacts.
• Digitize the data collection process.
• Develop and implement general hospitality training courses that address sector needs and build workforce capacity.
• Improve the ability of the hospitality industry to communicate with its customers.
• Restart and expand the Chinese tourism market training program to ensure that operators can cater for the growing Chinese market.
• Focus marketing campaigns on the six priority markets.
• Focus on nature-based tourism.
• Increase the use of social media and internet in marketing campaigns.

Better intelligence can make improved marketing possible, bringing the undoubted potential of Laos as a destination to many more tourists around the world. With good management, the country can gain revenue that is distributed widely across the country and population, with low impact, and sustainable benefits.