Luang Prabang Province has integrated sustainable tourism development of culture, history and nature as a key component to creating more income for local people in the province and reducing poverty, Lao News Agency reported.
Soutdaphone Khomthavong, deputy director of the Information, Culture and Tourism Department of Luang Prabang Province, reported to the 10th Party Congress on Jan 20 that Luang Prabang currently has 228 tourist sites that are open for public service, of which 86 are culture, 108 are nature and 34 are historical sites.
The province intends to improve and facilities including hotels, transportation services and promote the rich cultural and traditional heritage of the nation, she said.

Luang Prabang was awarded the Golden Award for Top Tourist Destination for seven consecutive years. It has also been named an outstanding world heritage town of Asia.
Over the past five years, Luang Prabang Province has welcomed over 1.8 million tourists that generated income of over US$650 million for the province.
Last year, over 600,000 tourists visited Luang Prabang Province including domestic and foreign tourists which contributed more than 1.6 trillion kip (US$200 million) to the provincial economy.

“The Mark Community” led Luang Prabang’s public and private sector tourism stakeholders sponsored an Elephant Baci Ceremony during the city’s 20th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The event welcomed a 20-strong Elephant Caravan, which spent 53 days trekking the 630-km route from Sayabouly Province’s Elephant Conservation Centre to Luang Prabang.
Led by Luang Prabang’s revered white elephant, the caravan arrived at the Elephant Baci Ceremony at 11:00 Thursday, 10 December, where a crowd of thousands welcoming them to the outdoor arena.
‪Luang Prabang View‬ hotel owner, Bounthieng Deuangprasurth, donated the land for the event, which took place on the proposed site for the new Night Market.

The Luang Prabang View hotel recently received “The Mark” for clean and safe dining, and joins the city’s Mark Community, a growing group of local hotels and restaurants certified by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) for following global food production guidelines.
The Mark Community supported the ceremony, with nine hotels, along with LANITH (Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality), signing up to back the event.
The Mark Community members co-sponsoring the ceremony included ‪‎Kiridara‬, ‪Maison Dalabua‬, ‪Maison Souvannaphoum‬, ‪Satri House‬, ‪Victoria Xiengthong Palace‬, ‪Villa Maly‬, ‪Villa Santi‬, and ‪3 Nagas‬.
The sizeable venue for the Elephant Baci Ceremony featured a massive lotus-shaped flower centerpiece, made with more than 200 kg of marigolds pinned to a banana-skin frame.
Luang Prabang View contributed LAK15 million (USD1,850) for the floral statue as well as the ceremony’s stage, scaffolding, and lights, with The Mark Community and partnering tourism stakeholders adding a combined USD1,500.
Luang Prabang View also arranged the USD1,000 fruit feast for the elephants, which dined at individual tables.
During the ceremony, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Khampheng Saysompheng presented Deuangprasurth and Sebastien Duffilot, co-founder of the Elephant Conservation Center, with awards recognising their contributions to Laos and the ‪#‎UNESCO‬ anniversary celebration.
After the event, The Mark Manager Manichan Chanpradid revealed LANITH – The Mark’s operating body – is set to continue the CIEH training program and restaurant audits in 2016.
The Mark certifies restaurants and hotels meet CIEH global standards for clean and safe food production.
“We aim to add 15 members to The Mark Community in 2016,” Ms Chanpradid said.
LANITH also announced a soon-to-open luxury hotel has booked The Balcony, the institute’s restaurant d’application in Luang Prabang, to train its staff to international standards.
Gary Tyson, general manager of the new five-star property located on the grounds of the old Phousy Hotel, said he wants the hotel to hit the ground running when it opens in 2016.
“It is imperative that our staff receive CIEH training and the hotel achieves The Mark to ensure we deliver quality service with safe and hygienic food production,” he said.
Tyson added: “We also want to become an active member of The Mark Community and contribute to establishing Luang Prabang as a competitive international destination.”

The Mark Community is the leading private-sector partner in the local government’s Luang Prabang Safe & Green Tourism Scheme. Among its objectives is solidifying public-private sector partnerships to promote tourism for the UNESCO World Heritage city.
LANITH receives support from UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) and funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to oversee The Mark.
Source: ‪‎TTRWeekly‬

Xieng Khouang province will develop a 10-hectare riverside park in Paek district of Phonsavanh to beautify the area and give residents and tourists a place to relax.
Vientiane Times reported the park is being built along the Nam Ngum River near a market and is on a well-traveled route that visitors must take to enter or exit the town.
It will take two years to complete the park. However, once it’s finished, the place should become a popular spot where residents can exercise or join in community activities.
“Construction of the park is expected to be finished in mid-2016 as the province is set to host the 11th National Games in 2017,” the governor told local media.

The park is close to the provincial stadium where the National Games will be hosted.
This is the first park to be built in the province and underscores the authorities efforts to attract domestic tourism and improve recreational facilities for residents.
‪Plain of Jars‬ is located in the Xieng Khouang Plateau, Northeast of the country around 400 km of Vientiane. It is already one of the country’s top tourist destination after Luang Prabang, attracting tourists interested in the Plain of Jars.
The province borders ‪Luang Prabang‬ to the Northwest, Houaphan to the Northeast, ‪Vietnam‬ to the East,  Bolikhamsai to the Southeast, and ‪Vientiane‬ to the Southwest.
The province’s Plain of Jars site has been proposed for listing as a ‪UNESCO‬ World Heritage Monument.

Vietnam and Laos are planning to build a 760 km expressway linking Hanoi and Vientiane and a railway linking Vung Ang (Ha Tinh) – Vientiane.
The both countries’ Ministry of Transport are disscussing about the preparations for a feasibility study on the route and forecasted traffic between the two capitals.
According to the pre-feasibility study done by Vietnam’s Transportation Design Consultancy Corporation (TEDI), the expressway would pass through Paksan in Laos and Thanh Thuy – Thanh Chuong (Nghe An province) in Vietnam.
The expressway will be chosen to cross between two connections, with one via the border gates of Thanh Thuy and Nam On and the other through the border at Ha Tinh province’s Cau Treo and Bolikhamsai province’s Nam Phao.

The ministry has yet to decide whether to upgrade existing roads to expressway standard, or build an entirely new road.
A feasibility study should also answer important questions of financing and the role each country will play in funding.
Motorists travelling from Vientiane to Hanoi use the road to the Nam Phao-Cau Treo international border checkpoint in Bolikhamsai province. Laos’ feasibility study may investigate this option.
In early October, the Ministry of Transport and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed an agreement to conduct a feasibility study for a rail link between Ha Tinh Province’s Vung Ang and Vientiane.
Vientiane-Hanoi Expressway and Vung Ang-Vientiane railway could be important transport links with ASEAN countries and in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

From December 7th until December 9th Luang Prabang citizen will celebrate the 20th years Anniversary of becoming Unesco World Heritage Town. This celebration goes hand in hand with the Luang Prabang Film Festival, the Handicraft and Food Festival as well as the Elephant caravan. Beside it, conferences, artistic performance, paradise and Market Fair are expected to make this anniversary become the most highlight and special time to visit Luang Prabang this December.

Nam Kat Yalo Pa which is located in the Nam Kat basin area in the Phou Hiphi National Conservation Forest in Meuang Xay, Oudomxay province, is planned to become a new Forest Park next year.
The objective is to introduce a new tourism option that focuses on preserving nature and the environment and using natural resources sustainable for tourism purposes.
To achieve this goal, the project will start with a series of training sessions in 11 villages in the area.

Investment in the development of Nam Kat Yola Pa was divided into two phases with the first phase completed this year.
New activities will be also set up for tourists such as a hiking trail to a suspension bridge, zip lines, rock climbing areas, elephant rides, motocross courses, tree house stays, and campgrounds.
Other tourist activities will include five-day treks, tribal village visits, a resort, and lessons on traditional farming techniques and winter crop farming.
The park, in Oudomxay province, is around 583 km from Vientiane, the capital.