destination alt-luxe
New luxury?
It’s Luang Prabang
Think alternative
or emerging luxury
destination in Asia and
a lot of travel experts
will have two words
on their lips: Luang
Prabang. Raini Hamdi
finds out why
Above Stunning
temples in the old town
W
hile overall
international
arrivals to Laos
have taken
a hit, Luang
Prabang is bucking the trend, and
the addition of luxury hotels this
year, among them a Rosewood,
Sofitel and Avani+, is anticipated
to stoke up a nicely burning fire
among upmarket visitors to visit
the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Laos has been on a downward
trend since 2016, with foreign
arrivals dropping 10 per cent to
4.2 million in 2016 over 2015, and
again 9.1 per cent to 2.9 million in
the first nine months of 2017 (latest
available figures at press time
from the Ministry of Information,
Culture & Tourism) over the same
period in 2016.
However, Luang Prabang saw
a growth of 5.3 per cent in 2016 to
469,586 foreign arrivals, inching
up as the third most-visited
province by international visitors
after the capital, Vientiane, and
Savannakhet. Between 2010 and
2016, overseas arrivals to Luang
Prabang rose 205 per cent.
Australia chalked up the highest
growth for Luang Prabang in 2016
(10.9 per cent), followed by Canada
(5.9 per cent), France (4.7 per cent),
Germany (4.3 per cent) and China
(4.1 per cent).
A lack of destination marketing
– especially when other ASEAN
destinations have stepped up their
TTG Asia luxury | May 2018 53