The most popular destinations for foreign tourists in Vietnam until June 2023 were the central beach city of Da Nang; the ancient city of Hoi An; Da Lat, known as the city of a thousand flowers in the Central Highlands; the coastal cities of Nha Trang and Vung Tau; and the “Paradise Pearl Island” of Phu Quoc, the Lao media reported.
The surge in international tourist arrivals was a sign of Vietnam’s post-pandemic recovery. Many Laotians, as well as Cambodians, also visited Vietnam for medical purposes.
On the other hand, Laos welcomed more than 1 million foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023, which was an impressive increase compared to 1.3 million tourists in the whole 2022. Vietnamese visitors made up the second-largest group of foreign tourists with 224,461 holidaymakers, just after Thailand.
In Luang Prabang alone, the province recorded nearly 400,000 international tourists from January to May this year, and the province’s five-year tourism plan hopes to attract 4 million tourists by 2025.
The steady growth in the number of Lao tourist arrivals to Vietnam is a positive sign for both countries’ tourism industries and a testament to the close ties between the two nations.
