Visitors to Luang Prabang plummet by 584,380 in 2020

Luang Prabang city recorded only 257,647 visitors in 2020, down 68 percent on 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), which determined that its architecture was culturally significant and worthy of protection by the United Nations.
Luang Prabang city has 97 hotels and resorts, 394 guesthouses, 421 restaurants and 97 tour companies. There are numerous officially designated tourist attractions including 111 nature-based sites, 78 places of cultural interest, and 39 places of historical significance.
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 the country due to global travel restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update January 8, 2021)