Lesser Known
Areas of Laos
From: Canada
- I noticed that mostly only Vientiane, Luangprabang, Vangvieng, and
Champassack tend to be the only widely visited cities in Laos. Is
the government doing anything to encourage more tourists to lesser
known areas of Laos?
Yes the government
is in fact 'trying' to encourage more tourists to lesser visited areas.
More importantly they're trying to encourage foreign investment in
different areas and provinces. They are doing so by, among others,
establishing economic zones and offering tax breaks to companies who
set up business in particular areas.
A part of the
reason why the aforementioned cities tend to be the most widely visited
areas of Laos is because they tend to have more sites to see or something
particularly unique. Luangprabang and its temples and palaces, Champassack
and its Wat Pu, Xiengkhoung and the Plain of Jars, and of course Vientiane
being the capital is generally known as the commercial city of the
country. And in the south, Siphandon and its idyllic waterways and
views. Also there are certain villages that are known for certain
aspects such as their rice wine or paper making or textiles or because
a particular ethnic group resides in that area. These are also reasons
why certain places get visited more than others.
There are other
more remote or lesser known places to visit in Laos but mostly only
people who have family or those all-out-adventurers who aren't afraid
to go off the beaten tourist path tend to visit these areas. It's
definitely an adventure either way, especially if one's goal is to
see and visit as much of Laos as possible.
