LUANG Prabang city recorded only 257,647 visitors in 2020, down 68% from 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report from the province’s Information, Culture and Tourism Department
Of this number, 142,435 were foreign nationals and 133,212 were Lao. The overall figure of 257,647 was a decrease of 584,380 from the 860,035 people who visited the town in 2019.
In 2018, Luang Prabang featured in the New York Times’ “52 places to go” edition of its travel section, sparking further tourist interest in Laos.
Luang Prabang also ranked 11th in Architectural Digest’s annual list of the top 20 places to travel in 2020.
The town’s old quarter was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1995 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
Popular tourist attractions include the Phu Si stupa, Xieng Thong temple, Sae waterfall, Kuang Xi waterfall and the night market.
Tourist numbers are down not only in Luang Prabang but throughout Laos due to global travel restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic. — Vientiane Times/ANN
