CEBU CITY, Philippines: Luang Prabang has reinforced its position as a regional leader in sustainable tourism, securing 21 awards at the Asean Tourism Forum 2026 in Cebu city, the Philippines.
The honours include the Asean Clean Tourist award and the Asean Sustainable Tourism award for the Luang Prabang National Museum, as well as 19 awards for hotels and event venues.
This brings the province’s total Asean tourism accolades to 93, highlighting the town’s long-term commitment to quality and environmentally responsible tourism.
The awards were presented at the Asean Tourism Forum 2026, held from January 25-31 in Cebu city, recognising Asean member states and tourism operators that met the criteria under standards such as Asean Clean Tourist City, Asean Green Hotel Standard, Asean Event Venue Standard, and the Asean Sustainable Tourism Award.
Luang Prabang received an Asean Clean Tourist City award for the third time since 2018, achieving an average score of 87.96 percent based on seven key evaluation indicators.
Authorities said further efforts are required, particularly in environmental management, cleanliness and waste management, to strengthen the city’s standing as a clean tourist destination.
The Luang Prabang National Museum received an Asean Sustainable Tourism Award in the category of urban tourism products promoting environmentally friendly destinations, recording an average score of 92.72 per cent across five main indicators.
Areas identified for improvement include encouraging wider participation in environmental and cultural conservation, providing dedicated tour guides, offering souvenirs, and enhancing waste and wastewater management.
Businesses in the private sector earned 19 awards, including 15 in the Asean Green Hotel category, three Asean Event Venue awards for conference facilities, and one additional event venue award, reflecting strong cooperation between public authorities and tourism businesses in advancing sustainable tourism development.
The Luang Prabang National Museum also received a four-star national tourist attraction award.
In recent years, the Luang Prabang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has placed a strong emphasis on improving the museum and its facilities, including improvements to ticket offices, walkways, and toilets, provision of basic first aid equipment and wheelchairs, and the installation of fire extinguishers.
Looking ahead, the Department plans to introduce more improvements with the aim of achieving a five-star national standard, while further upgrading facilities and providing more on-site activities to make the museum more appealing to visitors. - Vientiane Times/ANN
