An ATR Aircraft at Nong Khang airport (Photo: laotiantimes.com)
Vientiane (VNA) – The number of Lao and foreign tourists to the Lao far-north province of Houaphanh has kept increasing since Nong Khang airport in the province’s Samneua district was put into operation in May.
Director of the province’s Department of Information, Culture and Tourism Malaithong Bounyaxay said that since the airport opened, two airlines have launched flights from Vientiane to Samneua, which helps boost local tourism.
To attract more tourists to the province, the province is asking the Lao government for funding to upgrade key tourist attractions and improve the quality of tourism services.
From January to April, the province welcomed 18,888 visitors including 7,214 domestic tourists and 11,674 international, an increase of more than 300% over the same period last year.
The provincial official said that in the coming time, he believes the number of visitors to the province will continue to increase.
Previously, to get to the province, visitors had to go through a road trip on winding and dangerous mountain roads.
Located in the northernmost part of Laos, Houaphanh province is more than 600 km from Vientiane. Previously, it took about two days to reach the province from the capital, but now it takes only one hour by air.
Nong Khang airport is part of the Lao Government’s infrastructure development strategy aimed at transforming Laos from a landlocked to a regionally connected nation. The Build-Transfer (BT) project has a total investment of 82 million USD, financed through a loan from Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agriculture JSC. The airport is built according to the 3C standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), capable of serving 100,000 passengers per year and accommodating aircraft with 70-100 seats.
Located in an important economic-trade gateway between Laos and Vietnam, the airport also contributes significantly to the development of cross-border export-import activities between the two countries. It not only promotes tourism and economic growth of Houaphanh but also symbolises the enduring friendship and sustainable cooperation between the two neighbouring countries./.
