Economic boost
The railway brings more tourists to Luang Prabang, said Soudaphone Khomthavong, head of the media, culture and tourism bureau of Luang Prabang province, adding that it has already boosted transportation, investment, logistics and tourism in Laos, and will continue to do so.
Data from the bureau show that since the railway opened, about 85 percent of tourists have opted to take the train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.
"Laotian people and tourists from other countries find it easier to visit Luang Prabang by train," Khomthavong said, adding that she hoped the cross-border railway link would bring more Chinese tourists back to Luang Prabang.
"Before the (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Luang Prabang ranked number one or two, but it has fallen to number nine," she said in April.
She noted that the tourism industry in the province was preparing to receive more Chinese tourists after the train's international passenger service opened.
Chen Ruifen, a 66-year-old from East China's Zhejiang province, took the cross-border passenger service from Kunming to Vientiane in April. It was her first trip overseas since the pandemic ended. "The journey by rail is more comfortable, and Laos is not far from China," she said, adding that train tickets and hotel accommodations are less costly in Laos compared with other international destinations.
She joined a group tour and was happy with the journey.
The railway is extremely good news for local people in the tourism business. In Luang Prabang and Vientiane, paintings and photos of bullet trains and the railway hang in prominent places on the street, highlighting the convenient and comfortable journeys.
Bouncier Tangsinsomyong, a 50-year-old tour guide in Vientiane, said that he and his peers were excited to see more Chinese tourists visiting Laos following the end of the pandemic and the reopening of the border.
