-
✴︎
Luang Prabang Welcomes “Laos from the Sky!”
Summit Tours Sales & Marketing Manager. Jan Wollen met with the Luang Prabang Travel Association (LUTA) on Thursday, 31 May, to introduce her new company’s helicopter tours, and announce Summit’s new cooperative effort with Green Discovery Laos, details of which have yet to be revealed. We Are Lao Managing Director John Morris Williams orchestrated the meeting with the LUTA executives at the Luang Prabang View Hotel prior to the evening’s Luang Prabang Tourism & Hospitality Rendezvous. Summit Tours has exclusive rights for helicopter service with Lao Skyway. One helicopter will be based in Luang Prabang beginning in June, with four “Laos from the Sky!” tours aiming to take off in July: 30-minute Vientiane City Tour 30-minute Luang Prabang City Tour Day-trip to the Plain of Jars Day Trip to Nam Ngum from Vientiane City Summit Tours
-
✴︎
Lao Airlines & Bangkok Air Ink Deal
Bangkok Airways and Lao Airlines concluded a new codeshare deal, earlier this month, on routes between the two countries, TTR Weekly reported. It allows Lao Airlines to ticket passengers on Bangkok Airways’ flights on the Bangkok-Vientiane and Bangkok-Luang Prabang routes. Bangkok Airways’ flights on these two routes will appear as a booking options when passengers check the Lao Airlines’ website, or its flight schedules, but with a QV four digit flight designator. In return, Bangkok Airways gains access to Lao Airlines’ routes Vientiane-Bangkok, Luang Prabang-Bangkok, Pakse-Bangkok and Luang Prabang-Chiang Mai. It will ticket passengers on Lao Airlines services using a PG four digit designator. How will it benefit passengers? Passengers gain more flight options and they can book travel to a third destination served by the codeshare partner airline more conveniently. They will gain a through fare rather than buying two point-to-point fares. The partner airlines invariably synchronize their timetables to allow convenient connections. For airlines the main benefit is the apparent increase in frequencies on a route. It allows the airline to market and sell the additional flights without a major investment. In the case of the Lao Airlines and Bangkok Airways both airlines serve the Bangkok-Vientiane and Bangkok-Luang Prabang routes, but not Pakse-Bangkok or Chiang Mai –Luang Prabang that are served exclusively by Lao Airlines. However, Lao Airline stands to gain passengers who travel to Chiang Mai on Bangkok Airways. They can be ticketed through to Luang Prabang on the Laos Airlines flight to extend their holiday travels to Laos. Codeshare agreements typically allow two or more airlines share the same flight. Each airline publishes and markets the flight under its own airline designator and flight number as part of its published timetable or schedule. It can also include commercial agreements that provide the codeshare partner with an allotment of seats, net fares, or a more flexible free sales pact. Source: TTR Weekly
-
✴︎
New & Cool: Good Water Village
Ban Nam Dee may only be a 10-minute drive from Luang Namtha Town, but it seems like 100 miles away. The ethnic Lanten “Good Water Village” popped onto tourism maps a decade ago as the last stop on the Tea Caravan Trail from Bokeo to the Chinese border in north-western Laos. Back then, the fledgling CBT village had a pair of trails leading to a picnic platform over the Nam Dee Waterfall. The village presented a small handicraft shop and a refreshment stall. Today, Ban Nam Dee is an easy-to-access – Lao Skyway offers Vientiane-Luang Namtha flights five days a week at 15:00 – responsible tourism success story with a new website. Known as river dwellers wearing traditional indigo clothing, the Lanten produce high quality cotton cloth, wooden ceremonial masks and durable bamboo paper. Having migrated from China, they practice a mix of Taoism, and ancestor and spirit worship. Nam Dee now offers three programmes fit for all levels of tourists and families. The one-day guided tour takes in the waterfall, mountain trekking, and village life. The Homestay Package immerses visitors in the Lanten culture and traditions. The activity packed experience includes participating in a Baci-ceremony, dining on local meals, staying overnight with a family, learning how to make paper from bamboo, weave and dye. Visitors also take a short trek in a protected forest, visit the waterfall, and take part in day-to-day work. A study tour includes village sightseeing, observing the village’s way of life, and visiting the occupation groups. Overnight homestay options are also available. About 1,500 tourists annually visit Ban Nam Dee and generate about $10,000 per year, a leap from the $2,000 achieved in 2005. Each homestay household earns $400-500 per year, and 10 percent of revenue goes to village development. Nam Dee Website.
