(KPL) The Department of Tourism Marketing, under the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism of Laos, in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, organized the Laos-Thailand Business-to-Business (B2B) Roadshow 2024 in Yasothon Province, Thailand, on October 2, 2024. 

 The event aimed to attract more Thai tourists to Laos as part of the Visit Laos Year 2024 campaign.

The roadshow, spearheaded by the Department of Tourism Marketing, connected Lao travel companies with their Thai counterparts to strengthen tourism ties and increase the number of Thai tourists visiting Laos, which has been steadily rising.

The Lao delegation, led by Mr. Khom Douangchantha, Director General of the Department of Tourism Marketing, included representatives from prominent Lao tourism-related companies, such as Lao Overseas Travel, Worldwide Travel, Dream Destine, Dansavanh Nam Ngum Resort, Cosi Vientiane Nam Phu Hotel, Urban Night Hotel, Radisson Hotel, Landmark Hotel, and Huongkim Hotel.

On the Thai side, the delegation was headed by Ms. Raddawan Saenyotaka, Deputy Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani Office. It included representatives from several Thai provinces, including Yasothon, Ubon Ratchathani, Amnat Charoen, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, and Maha Sarakham.

The roadshow served as a platform to promote tourism linkages between Laos and Thailand, facilitating the exchange of information on tourism packages and business models, while fostering stronger tourism networks. It also provided business operators from both countries the opportunity to enhance cooperation and explore new tourism products.

According to Mr. Khom Douangchantha, 2024 is a crucial year for Laos as it holds the ASEAN Chair and has declared it the Visit Laos Year. In collaboration with ICT departments nationwide, the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism has outlined 79 tourism promotion activities, including 14 national-level events and 65 at the provincial level.

The Lao government has invested significantly in developing tourism infrastructure, including roads and other facilities, to cater to foreign visitors, particularly from regional markets like Thailand, which remains the largest source of tourists for Laos.

In 2020, more than 350,000 Thai visitors traveled to Laos, a number that surged to 1.3 million last year. In the first eight months of 2024, over 855,200 Thai nationals visited Laos, accounting for 32.24% of all foreign visitors to the country this year.

KPL