Chinese visitors storm into Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang - The number of Chinese tourists to Laung Prabang province may exceed those from Thailand this year, said an official.
Last year most visitors to the northern town came from Thailand, with Chinese nationals ranking second.
An official from the provincial Tourist Office, Vanphaeng Inthiphon, said that Thai and Chinese citizens have been coming to the world heritage site in large numbers for several years.
“This year the Chinese may top the number of tourists in Luang Prabang because they sometimes travel in groups of almost 1,000,” he said.
According to the Luang Prabang Tourist Office, over 400,000 tourists of all nationalities came to the province last year. They hope to boost the number to 700,000 tourists by 2020.
The total number of foreign tourist arrivals in Laos increased from 2.7 million people in 2011 to 4.1 million last year.
Vanphaeng added that when such a sizeable group comes to Luang Prabang, communication with staff in guesthouses, hotels and restaurants can be somewhat troublesome because the Chinese cannot speak English.
The people of Luang Prabang are keen to preserve their traditions and customs such as the morning almsgiving ceremony when monks parade through the streets. Temples are well used for prayer, merit-making and the chanting of scriptures by monks and novices.
