(KPL) The Vice President of the Lao National Assemble, Dr. Xaysomphone Phomvihane, representing the Lao PDR, has announced the acception of Laos to host the 17th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in 2009.

Dr. Xaysomphone made his announcement at the recently ended 16th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), held on 20-24 January, in Oakland, New Zealand.
The participation of Lao National Assembly was in response to the inviation of the President of New Zealand Parliament and APPF, Ms. Margaret Wilson.
The forum drew representatives from 21 APPF member countries and nine observation countries...more info>>

The meeting adopted join-statement and 23 resolutions on politics, socio-economic affairs, and the c-operation between APPF member countries in the future.
The meeting also raised Korean penilsular, mines, and the situation in Middle-East, Iraq and South Asia.

Discussed at the meeting were also the negative impacts of climate change to the sustainable development, the impacts of energy sortage to both international and regional trade development.

Resolutions on preparing for response to the threats of natural disaster, epedemic diseases and the promotion of women’s participation in economic and politic areas, the management of fisheries in south Asia, water resource management, and human rights were also approved at the meeting.

Dr. Xaysomphone also paid a courtesy visit to the President of New Zealand Parliament and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. The Lao delegation also met foreigners to promote culture, tourism and investment in Laos.

Source: kpl

(KPL) By the year of 2007, the tourism sectors has grown up steadily which created revenue for the country almost 26 percent per, said Mr Soukhaseum Phothisane, Vice Chairman of Lao National Tourism Authority to the media on 27 December.

He added that there were 1.3 million foreign tourists arrival Laos during 10 months, growing 900,000 people over last year figure, about 37 percent increased compared to the same previous of last year. About 1,400,000 tourists are expected to come to visit Laos at the end of this year, which will provide a benefit to the country about US$ 200 million...more

According to Mr. Soukhaseum, the service sector is now improving its facilities to serve their clients including hotel, guesthouse, and restaurant and tourist sites. In other hand, the handicraft products by ethnic people is also encouraged to display at the various activities in domestic and foreign countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Japan.

In addition, Lao government also plans to upgrade the communication and transportation system in grass root level in order to attract more tourists. This included the road from Km 20 to Konglor cave, Luang-Namtha Airport, and other roads to the new tourist sites.

Go together with the tourism administration office improvement in the provincial level, the government will also build the awareness on how importance of tourism to the social-economic development.

Source: kpl

France help Laos to prepare for francophonie ministerial meeting
(KPL) A French Development Agency (AFD) of France provided recently a grant aid worth 300,000 Euro or US$ 390,000 to the Lao PDR. This grant fund will be used for the installation of the light system in some important places and buildings in the Vientiane Capital.

The installation of light system in Vientiane is a part of the preparation for hosting the Francophonie Ministerial Meeting which is expected to be held in Vientiane on 19-21 November 2007. This is a final preparing meeting before the francophonie summit will be opened in Paris.

The hosting of this francophonie ministerial meeting is reflecting to the co-operation of Laos to the francophonie affairs.

A representatives from more than 60 countries worldwide are invited to take part at this meeting.

The assistance of France is considered as a big contribution for improving the Vientiane Capital.

The signing ceremony for the grant aid was held on 31 May at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between Mr. Hiem Phommachanh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and French Ambassador to Laos.

Source: kpl.net.la

Will Hide finds peace and quiet – and his dancing feet – in Luang Prabang, the Asia travellers’ new darling

The children at Viengxay primary school in northeast Laos, not far from the border with Vietnam, seemed rather calm considering a sweaty Englishman carrying a backpack had just tripped over the wall into their playground. The group of 30 or so cast a glance in my direction as I dusted myself down, then quickly went back to the more important matter at hand, their game of boules...more

A flick of the wrist, a ball flying through the air, a collective holding of breath, a thud followed by a clack and a muted cheer. A tall boy, the victor, beamed and patted his opponent on the back and was just about to suggest another game when the bell – actually the empty shell of an American bomb – was thwacked by a teacher and in moments the playground was empty. I excused myself and started back on my trail, looking hopefully for a path to the river and a boat that would take me back towards Luang Prabang.

Aside from boules and baguettes and a few whitewashed villas you wouldn’t guess the French had ruled Laos half a century ago. And apart from the odd shell casing made into a school bell or plant pot, a tourist wouldn’t guess that, between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped almost two million tonnes of explosives on Laos, making it, per inhabitant, the most bombed nation on earth. That the people of this small, landlocked country seem more wary of outsiders and more hesitant with a smile than their Thai neighbours is, perhaps, understandable.

Like Kathmandu and Koh Samui before it, Luang Prabang is the Asia travellers’ new darling. The ancient town – you’d be pushing your luck to call it a city – lies at a confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers and has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1995. Those pressed for time can fly in from Bangkok, although a more leisurely way is the two-day boat trip down the Mekong from the Thai border at Huay Xai, or by bus from the capital, Vientiane, breaking the journey at Vang Vieng to float lazily downriver on inner tubes.

Alongside Luang Prabang’s shuttered old French colonial buildings are almost 70 Buddhist wats (temples), half of which are still occupied by saffron-robed monks. There are also dozens of small cafés serving everything from traditional laap (a salad of minced meat, lime juice, garlic, mint and chillies) with a bottle of cool Beerlao, to cappuccinos, chocolate brownies and, the backpackers’ favourite, banana pancakes.

Italian tour groups and Israeli backpackers potter around on bicycles hired for a couple of dollars a day, take longboats up the river to visit the Pak Ou caves crammed with hundreds of statues of Buddha, walk up Mount Phu Si, join the monks in the internet cafés on Sisavangvong Street (a rather surreal sight at first), take a £3-an-hour massage and browse for T-shirts and lanterns at the night market. Accommodation ranges from dollar-a-night crashpads to restored mansions such as the Apsara, a dream of a place with an open front facing the river, creaking wooden floorboards, whirling fans, black and white photos on the wall, glass Buddhas in alcoves and the best bar and restaurant in town.

I wondered aloud, though, to the hotel’s English owner, Ivan Scholte, what Luang Prabang might be like in ten years’ time, a victim perhaps of its own success? Already the ancient daily early morning ritual of tak bat – giving alms to the town’s monks – has become something of a bun flight in places, with tourists jostling for the best photo spots.

“Some feel Luang Prabang should attract a much larger number of tourists and incorporate the infrastructure to accommodate them, including golf courses and bigger hotels,” he says. “This will probably bring in more money initially but the essence of the town will change dramatically as it becomes a theme park. Others feel the authorities should try to bring in a more discerning type of visitor who in the long term will have less of an influence on the local way of life.

“On a more optimistic note, it’s largely due to the Unesco World Heritage status that Luang Prabang has remained as lovely as it is. I think the town looks better today than when I arrived five years ago.”

Certainly sitting in the peaceful Tamarind Café, slurping a strong Lao coffee topped up with condensed milk, and scooping up spicy dips with crisps made from river weed and sesame seeds while listening to the monks chanting in Wat Nong across the road, I couldn’t help but hope that any future growth is managed well.

The next morning I was driven three hours north to the village of Ban LaKhon, by fields of buffalo and rice, overtaking families on mopeds, then alongside mountains hugged by mist, thick with teak and bamboo, past villages where satellite dishes cast shadows on baskets of bright red chillies. There I met my guides, Muen and Champoo, and we walked all afternoon through paddy fields and woods to the dirt-poor village of Phayong, miles from the nearest road, where a very basic B&B has been set up to give tourists an insight into the lives of the Hmong and Kamu people who live there. In the evening I sat down with the head of the village, Mr Vang, and dined on rice, fried greens, salty soup and scrawny chicken, illuminated by a candle balanced on an empty tin of rat poison, before turning in for an early night. Lao cockerels are no respecters of dawn, however, deciding to announce the new day at 3.30am. By the time I slothfully dragged myself out of bed at first light just after six, I seemed to be the last person in the village up and about.

Returning by riverboat to Luang Prabang I spent my last night in Laos at another, more upmarket eco-resort, Kamu Lodge, a great example of putting money directly into locals’ pockets without resorting to scratchy loo paper, nettle soup or hair shirts. The semi-permanent tents, well disguised by thick foliage, were more like something from an African safari. The interaction with the village next door seemed not too intrusive, the food delicious and even the evening entertainment of bamboo-pole dancing – skipping between them as they are banged together at ankle level, participation mandatory – managed, just about, not to be too cringe-making. Maybe it was the free-flowing Beerlao, maybe I was too chilled to care that I looked like a berk. Laos, Luang Prabang in particular, certainly does seem to have a rather calming effect.

Need to know Will Hide travelled with Selective Asia (0845 3703344, www.selectiveasia.com), which offers ten-day trips, including accommodation, guiding and some meals, but not flights, from £395pp. He booked flights through Travelmood (0871 2266111, www.travelmood.com), which has return flights to Luang Prabang, via Bangkok, from Heathrow from £789.

Reading: Laos (Lonely Planet, £12.99), Ancient Luang Prabang by Denise Heywood (River Books, £16.95), Ant Egg Soup – The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos by Natacha du Pont de Bie Sceptre, £7.99)

Red tape: A 15-day visa costs $35 cash on arrival with one passport photo. Air departure tax is $10 cash.

Source: travel.timesonline.co.uk

PUTRAJAYA: Direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane in Laos will resume from July after nearly a decade of hiatus. Budget carrier AirAsia will be operating between the two cities, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar announced yesterday.

This was agreed upon by both governments at the third joint commission meeting for bilateral co-operation here.

The decision to resume direct air links was made as part of steps to increase co-operation in tourism and to boost trade and investment, he said after the two-day meeting.

Syed Hamid led the Malaysian delegation, while Laos Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Thongloun Sisoulith led the Laos delegation.
Malaysia Airlines had mounted flights into Vientiane beginning in 1996 but ceased operations since 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis...more

Syed Hamid said resumption of direct flights was mutually beneficial as Laos was keen to have more Malaysians invest there.

Malaysia is the ninth largest investor there, with interests in hotels and hydropower facilities.

Trade with Laos is now worth US$58 million (RM197.7 million).

Both countries also discussed plans to exchange plots of land in Putrajaya and Vientiane for the building of their respective embassies and ambassadors’ residences.

Other areas of co-operation such as capacity-building to help develop Laos’ economy were discussed, including plans for the country to explore rubber planting.

Laos has also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to visit the country.

The next bilateral meeting will be held in Vientiane in 2009.

Source: The New Straits Times

Vientiane sees higher tourist arrivals

(KPL) This year, Vientiane Capital expects to welcome more than 700,000 tourists, said Deputy-Head of Vientiane Tourism Administration Office, Mr. Khamkhoun Bailatri.
Nowadays, accommodations and other tourist facilities in Vientiane Capital are being developed and improved, such as tourism information, hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, road communications and tourism sites. Mr. Khamkhoun continued that the Vientiane Capital tourist office expected that almost 800,000 tourists would visit the Capital, a rise of 4 per cent over the previous year. This will generate over USD70 million for the capital.

In 2007 there will be 249 accommodations compared to last year increased to seven places, 67 restaurants increased to three places and four cruise ships.
Next year, the Vientiane Tourism Administration forecasts more than 800,000 tourists will visit Vientiane Capital and money will flow USD75 million and Vientiane Tourism Administrative will prompt local businessmen to invest in the construction of accommodations to cope with the increase of tourists seems a risen every year.

On the occasion of Lao New Year celebration falling on 13 to 16 April, the National Tourism Administration will organise an international skydiving at Don Chan beach, it expects to draw about 80 -100 foreign parachutists and 20 Lao volunteer parachutists.