Travel magazine ranks Luang Prabang as world's best city
Rik Ponne
Travel magazine ranks Luang Prabang as world's best city
Feb 16, 2012
Vientiane Times
Readers of Wanderlust , a leading British travel magazine, have voted
Luang Prabang as the best city in the world to visit for the last
three years in a row, according to Lao tourism officials.
The World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang beat out more than 1,000
cities worldwide to top the magazine's annual list of best tourist
destinations for 2012.
Located in the north of Laos with a population of about 100,000, the
town has made the magazine's list of top travel destinations since
2006.
DThis picturesque scene illustrates why travellers voted Luang Prabang
their favourite city.
Luang Prabang senior tourism expert Mr Khamtan Somphanvilay told
Vientiane Times yesterday that Wanderlust readers had ranked the city
as “best tourist destination” for three consecutive years from
2006-2008.
In 2009 it fell to one of the top 10 in the same category before again
topping the list from 2010 to 2012.
“ Wanderlust is in the process of sending us the award for 2012,” Mr
Khamtan said, saying that the charm of Luang Prabang is its mix of
natural and cultural splendours.
The town is a cultural centre in the region, with its numerous temples
bearing testimony to its former glory.
Its landmark attractions are its centuries-old Buddhist temples and
monasteries, Kuang Xi waterfall, Phousy hill and Buddha cave, all of
which are easily accessible.
Wanderlust says “Your perennial fave gets the gong again. We love the
fact that your top city isn't about bright lights and fast living.
“No, laid-back Lao city Luang Prabang likes to take things slow.
Really slow. You can't get enough of its serene temples and jungle
ecolodges.”
The magazine's readers also voted Bamboo Travel as the winner of Best
Tour Operator in 2011, and runner up in 2012. This travel company runs
tours for visitors from the UK and other European countries to Luang
Prabang province.
Luang Prabang is the former capital of the Lane Xang Kingdom, or the
Land of a Million Elephants.
UNESCO declared the town a World Heritage Site in 1995 and since then
tourist arrivals have risen each year.
In 2010-11, tourist arrivals in the province reached 274,000 people,
20,000 more than the previous year, according to the Luang Prabang
provincial Department of Information, Culture and Tourism.
The tourism department is optimistic that the trend will continue this
year.
Officials attribute the current surge in visitor numbers to the ‘Visit
Laos Year 2012' campaign and the opening of direct flights between
Laos and Singapore and the Republic of Korea .
About 700 tourists from Kor ea have visited Luang Prabang every week
since the start of this year. Prior to this, there were only about 40
tourists from the country each week, according to the provincial tou
rism department.
Tourist arrivals from Europe have also seen an increase despite the
economic crisis on that continent. Europe represents 43 percent of all
tourist arrivals in the province.
The largest number of European tourists come from the UK, with about
30,000 to 40,000 visitors per year.
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Rik Ponne
International Team Leader
GMS Sustainable Tourism Development Project in Lao PDR
Lao National Tourism Administration, Room 408
PO Box 3556, Lane Xang Avenue
Vientiane, Lao PDR
Phone: +856 (0)20 58871654
Email: rikp...@gmail.com
Website: www.stdplaos.com
Check out the new Web-Based Knowledge Center,
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aimed at raising standards and knowledge of the Lao tourism sector.