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Meet the makers in Made in Lao Fair 2020. Loads of great people and products. All unscripted, and apologies for the poor YouTube production. My first try. Please Subscribe.      

By Bernie Rosenbloom Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit cut the ribbon to open the Vientiane-Vang Vieng Expressway on 20 December, unleashing hordes of domestic tourists on the 110-km speedway to the holiday retreat. Drivers heavy on the pedal report travel times of an hour, a far cry from the half-day scenic tour on Route 13. The … Read more

Fifty publications now line the shelves of WeAreLao.com/downloads, the site’s most popular page, Better yet, the library’s filtered search engine makes it fast and easy to find the right document. We Are Lao kicked off their Downloads page on 17 May 2020, with 20 publications to provide the travel trade and tourists with a range … Read more

  Op-Ed: Bernie Rosenbloom   Like many, I wake up and read the travel trade papers. When and how destinations will reopen dominate the headlines. And there is no lack of experts willing to share their wisdom. Photo by ProjectsPlus What new twist will we face today? What sage advice is coming from the UNWTO, … Read more

The Tourism Development Department (TDD), Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism published the 2019 Statistical Report on Tourism in Laos this week. Download and have a look. Full analysis from WeAreLao to come after New Year 

Laos now has a draft for a Tourism Recovery Roadmap. Prepared by Australian-based Synergy Insights Consulting, the strategy focusses on The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic; Approaches and Interventions; Current Challenges, Emerging Trends and Recovery Influencers; Recommendations for Recovery Priorities and Actions; and Phases, Actions, an Accountabilities. Stay on top of what is in the … Read more

PATA’s Crisis Communications Center has published two resources to help the travel trade navigate their way through the Covid-19 Pandemic maze. These are now available at Downloads | We Are Lao. PATA Destination Marketing Guide for Covid-19 The resources here are a guide for a managed discussion with Destination Managers and the trade and will … Read more

Download and read these year-end reports on Covid-19’s impact on travel (Deloitte) and its effect on Asian SMEs (ADB). Some of the findings may not be what you expected, others predict a path ahead, and all are extremely insightful. The 2020-21 annual report, “Travel Weekly Insight”, produced in association with Deloitte, suggests a substantially reduced … Read more

The Lao economy, like those around the world, is hunting for reasonable ways to get the money machine rolling during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the upcoming “Made in Laos” 2020 fair looks like a logical move. According to the Vientiane Times, the expo, being held at Vientiane’s Lao-ITECC from 25 December though 3 January, aims … Read more

By Bernie Rosenbloom   The on-again, off-again opening of the highly touted Vientiane-Vang Vieng expressway has a new (and third) official launch date…20 December. In an attempt to mitigate the recent confusing communications, the expressway’s Chinese operators tried playing nice by offering toll-free travel between 21 to 23 December. But will it happen? Note the … Read more