Tourism in Laos

Annual statistics

Year	Tourism Arrivals	changes	references
2017	3,860,000	8.73%	[1]
2016	4,239,047	10.00%	[2]
2015	4,684,429	12.64%	[3]
2014	4,158,719	10.03%	[4]
2013	3,779,490	13.49%	[5]
2012	3,330,072	22.26%	[6]
2011	2,723,564	8.37%
2010	2,513,028	25.12
2009	2,008,363	no data

Ranking of International Visitor arrivals in Laos

• Reference:^[7]

Rank	country	2016	2015	2014	2013 [8]	2012 [6]	2011	2010	2009
*	ASEAN	3,083,383	3,588,538	3,224,080	3,041,233	2,712,478	2,191,224	1,990,932	1,611,009
1	Thailand*	2,009,605	2,321,352	2,043,761	2,059,434	1,937,612	1,579,941	1,517,064	1,274,064
2	Vietnam*	998,400	1,187,954	1,108,332	910,164	705,596	561,586	431,011	296,763
3	China	545,493	511,436	422,440	245,033	199,857	150,791	161,854	128,226
4	South Korea	173,260	165,328	96,085	81,799	53,829	34,707	27,312	17,876
5	United States	58,094	63,058	61,460	61,608	53,380	50,092	49,782	39,339
6	France	54,953	55,151	52,146	52,411	46,903	44,399	44,844	31,775
7	Japan	49,191	43,826	44,877	48,644	42,026	37,883	34,076	28,081
8	United Kingdom	39,170	41,508	39,061	41,741	35,964	35,622	37,272	27,044
9	Germany	34,018	31,897	29,800	29,250	23,417	21,280	22,583	17,710
10	Australia	33,077	34,665	44,964	35,441	33,878	31,874	30,538	24,209
11	Malaysia*	24,391	24,095	24,312	26,035	22,785	17,702	N/A	N/A
12	Canada	19,315	19,785	19,096	17,132	16,744	14,422	N/A	N/A
13	Philippines*	16,750	16,709	15,179	16,318	14,281	11,847	N/A	N/A
14	Cambodia*	16,536	20,625	15,342	12,180	15,140	7,561	N/A	N/A
15	Taiwan	14,005	6,131	5,478	4,771	3,996	5,029	N/A	N/A
16	Russia	13,033	12,532	13,340	11,649	8,642	7,019	N/A	N/A
17	Switzerland	10,603	9,777	9,064	10,586	10,096	9,710	N/A	N/A
18	Italy	10,052	8,990	9,710	8,822	6,289	6,977	N/A	N/A
19	Singapore*	8,512	8,258	9,621	9,685	10,545	7,130	N/A	N/A
20	India	8,249	5,492	4,547	4,551	3,275	3,227	N/A	N/A
21	Netherlands	7,004	8,429	8,683	10,899	9,283	9,164	N/A	N/A
22	Sweden	5,795	5,465	5,804	5,194	6,676	5,926	N/A	N/A
23	Belgium	5,682	5,289	5,343	6,046	6,284	5,241	N/A	N/A
24	Spain	5,461	4,856	5,219	5,127	4,208	4,652	N/A	N/A
25	Austria	5,324	3,910	3,835	3,339	2,860	3,801	N/A	N/A
26	Indonesia*	5,010	6,019	4,812	4,888	4,256	3,338	N/A	N/A
27	New Zealand	4,787	4,798	5,200	5,451	5,418	4,885	N/A	N/A
28	Denmark	4,479	4,491	5,065	4,586	5,054	4,769	N/A	N/A
29	Norway	4,018	3,499	3,606	3,531	3,307	3,178	N/A	N/A
30	Myanmar*	3,695	2,661	2,157	1,947	1,730	1,765	N/A	N/A
31	Israel	3,593	4,163	4,068	3,364	3,241	4,232	N/A	N/A
32	Finland	3,218	3,013	3,751	2,735	2,962	2,742	N/A	N/A
33	Greece	593	878	498	433	366	451	N/A	N/A
34	Brunei*	484	865	564	582	533	354	N/A	N/A

* Country in ASEAN

Vientiane

• Buddha Park
• Haw Phra Kaew
• Lao National Museum
• Patuxai
• Pha That Luang
• That Dam
• Wat Si Saket
• Wat Si Muang

Luang Prabang

• Haw Kham
• Wat Xieng Thong
• Grave site of Henri Mouhot
• Pak Ou Caves

Xieng Khouang- The Plain of Jars

Xiengkhouang Province is home to Plain of Jars and part of Laos Northern Heritage Route (together with Luang Prabang, Houapan and Sayabouri). With its pine forests and much cooler climate it the plateau is different from other regions in Laos or South East Asia. The Jars are Iron Age cemetery sites with a beautiful minimalistic aesthetics that due to their ubiquitousness could also be considered land art. More recently the province took most of the burden of the so-called Secret War. Many of the sites can be visited.

The province can be explored individually by motorbike or by booking one of many tours on offer in Vientiane, Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng. Standard tours visit the major jar sites and the once magnificent capital of Muang Khoun. There are also much more interesting ecotourism and culture tours that have been developed together with UNESCO, Helvetas or DED such as a two-day trek to the remote Hmong village Ban Phakeo or a one-day trek to Ban Napia and Ban Namka to learn about sustainable energy and the making of “War Spoons” from UXO war scrap. Refer to Phonsavan for detailed information about what to do and how to get there.

• Plain of Jars
• Phonsavan Main article for history, attractions, activities and natural sites in Xiengkhouang Province

Champasak

• Champasak Provincial Museum
• Wat Phu
• Khonphapheng waterfall

Vang Vieng

Ecotourism

In many Lao provinces you can get off the beaten track and book package tours from local agencies or the tourism offices. You can experience the real village life or do elephant trekking among other things. The best places for trekking are Luang Namtha and Phongsaly. For a combination of history and village culture go trekking around Phonsavan.

• Ban Nalan Trail