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Strategy and Action Plan to Encourage Tourists to Stay Longer and Spend More on the North-South Economic Corridor

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Strategy and Action Plan to Encourage Tourists to Stay Longer and Spend More on the North-South Economic Corridor Part I Strategy and Action Plan to Encourage Tourists to Stay Longer and Spend More on the North-South Economic Corridor Luang Namtha & Bokeo Provinces, Lao PDR GMS-Sustainable Tourism Development Project in Lao PDR Lao National Tourism Administration August 2009 Prepared by Asian Center for Tourism Planning and Poverty Reduction Thammasat University Rangsit Campus Faculty of Social Administration Building, Rm.213, 2nd Floor Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12121 THAILAND Tel: (66-2) 696-5508 Fax: (66-2) 986-8322 Website: www.tu.ac.th/org/socadm/actppr E-mail: [email protected] 1 2 Figure 1: Map of GMS North-South Economic Corridors Source: Toward Sustainable and Balanced Development: A Strategy and Action Plan for the GMS North-South Economic Corridor, October 2008 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................. 5 2. CURRENT TOURISM SITUATION - NSEC IN LAO PDR ........................................ 5 3. EXISTING TOURISM PRODUCTS & MARKETS .................................................... 6 3.1 Luang Namtha Province .................................................................................... 6 3.2 Bokeo Province ................................................................................................ 10 4. NEW POSSIBLE MARKETS ................................................................................. 14 4.1 Family/ Leisure Group on Package Tours from Thailand and China ............... 15 4.2 Nature-based tourists/ adventure tourists from other countries in Asia ........... 17 5. IDENTIFICATION OF NEW TOURISM ACTIVITIES ALONG R3 .......................... 18 5.1 STDP Identification of Tourism Products along NSEC R3 .............................. 18 5.2 Recommended New Tourism Products and Activities ..................................... 22 6. STRATEGY & ACTION PLAN INCREASE NSEC TOURISM BENEFITS ............ 25 6.1 Diversification of Tourism Products ................................................................. 25 6.2 Innovative Communication .............................................................................. 27 6.3 Provision of Visitor Infrastructure and Facilities ............................................... 28 6.4 Effective Branding and Marketing .................................................................... 28 7. PRELIMINARY VISITOR FORECASTS ................................................................ 32 7.1 Average Annual Growth Rate during 2004-2008 ............................................. 32 7.2 Growth projections and benefits accruing from effective implementation of the strategy .................................................................................................................. 33 8. BENEFICIARIES ................................................................................................... 35 9. IMPLEMENTATION .............................................................................................. 36 4 1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The North-South Economic Corridor (NSEC) consists of three major routes that follow the north-south axis of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) including: (i) the Kunming-Chiang Rai-Bangkok highways that traverse Lao PDR or Myanmar; (ii) the Kunming-Hanoi-Hai Phong route; and (iii) the roadways linking Nanning to Hanoi via the Youyi Pass or Fangcheng-Dongxing-Mong Cai route. This study is focused on the section of the NSEC beginning at the Lao PDR-China immigration terminal at Boten and Lao PDR-Thailand border at Houei Xai. The objective of the study and subsequent Strategy is to outline strategies and actions aimed at improving tourism along NSEC in Lao PDR and encouraging tourists to stay longer and spend more money in the area. Intended outcomes of the Strategy are to better secure the NSEC’s natural, cultural and historic tourism assets and create jobs and income generating opportunities for local people living near the road, especially women and ethnic groups. Information in this document was obtained from several primary and secondary sources, including the GMS-STDP’s formulation reports and RRP. A 10 member, multi-disciplinary team consisting of tourism and heritage interpretation specialists, architects and local tourism and heritage management officials performed a 6-day field-survey on the NSEC in June 2009 to assess the tourism potential and limitations at primary and secondary sites identified by the Luang Namtha and Bokeo PTD’s. The main data collection instruments included site surveys along the NSEC, interviews with officials and private sector tourism and accommodation operators, literature review and field observations. There were also interviews using questionnaires developed by the STDP and discussions with key informants in 7 communities including: § Ban Nam Dee, Luang Namtha province § Ban Vieng Nua, Luang Namtha province § Ban Chaleunsuk, Luang Namtha province § Ban Nam Eng, Luang Namtha province § Ban Nam Pae, Luang Namtha province § Ban Don Chai, Bokeo province § Ban Nam Chang, Bokeo province 2. CURRENT TOURISM SITUATION - NSEC IN LAO PDR The NSEC in Lao PDR (National Route 3) passes through the two northwestern provinces of Luang Namtha and Bokeo as shown in figure 2. At its southern end is Chiang Rai province in Thailand and to the north is Yunnan province in China. This section of the NSEC includes Houei Xai District in Bokeo and Vieng Phouka and Namtha District in Luang Namtha. Total distance between the Houei Xai and Boten immigration checkpoints is approximately 240-km, consisting of a two-lane, paved all weather roadway that was completed in 2008. As of 2009 it takes about 4.5 hours to drive the 240-km Lao section because some parts of the road are under repair. With completion of major road works, it is expected that NSEC will serve as the main land route providing opportunities for trade and investment in several development areas including tourism. Since the NSEC was improved and opened in 2007, there is an increasing number of travelers using the NSEC to cross Lao PDR going to and from Thailand and China. Driving along the NSEC offers opportunities to see an excellent variety of mountain landscapes and ethnic minority communities. Although many opportunities to boost local visitation exist, provincial tourism statistics in Luang Namtha and Bokeo suggest that there are very few tourists visiting 5 attractions situated along the NSEC. Some reasons why are a lack of awareness among tourists and operators about the sites, lack of quality tourism products and services, lack of visitor services and facilities, and lack of hotels and restaurants. Thus, there are currently minimal opportunities for local communities living along the NSEC in these 2 provinces to participate in and capture economic benefits from tourism. Figure 2: Route No. 3 (NSEC) linking Bokeo and Luang Namtha Provinces TO CHINA (Yunnan province) a amth ang N Lu nce Provi o Boke nce Provi Route No. 3 TO THAILAND (Chiang Rai province) 3. EXISTING TOURISM PRODUCTS AND MARKETS This section of the Strategy outlines the current tourism situation, existing tourism products, existing markets and facilities in Luang Namtha and Bokeo. 3.1 Luang Namtha Province Luang Namtha province has developed a reputation for the quality of its nature- based tourism. It can be accessed by air, land and river. Lao Airlines offers regular flights to Luang Namtha’s new airport (completed in 2008) from Vientiane on the ATR-72 and MA-50 aircraft. As mentioned above, Route No. 3 that connects China to Lao PDR and Thailand was completed in 2007, making land transportation very convenient. With completion of the road works, less and less visitors travel up the Namtha River from Houay Xay, but in 2009 it was still possible to reach Luang Namtha by river from June – January. Tourism Situation The number of international tourist arrivals to Luang Namtha between 2001 and 2008 has increased nearly fivefold. A doubling of arrivals between 2006 and 2008 is attributed to completion of the NSEC. The significance of this increase must be 6 carefully considered given the relatively low level of existing visitors in 2006. International arrivals to Luang Namtha are calculated based on the number of tourists that cross at the Boten international checkpoint, which include both visitors staying in Luang Namtha and transit visitors. These figures and other select indicators are reported in table 1. Table 1: International tourist arrivals and select indicators in Luang Namtha , 2004-2008 Luang Namtha 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Province No. of international 79,006 19,319 29,720 41,658 49,258 47,788 88,427 197,202 tourist arrivals Average length of stay (counted only for visitors N/A N/A N/A 5 days 4 days 4 days 5 days 5 days staying in Luang Namtha ) Average daily expenditure in N/A N/A N/A 16 USD 16 USD 17 USD 20 USD 20 USD USD Revenue in USD N/A N/A N/A 2,377,600 3,152,512 4,401,680 6,000,000 Percentage of tourists on a N/A N/A N/A 11% 4% 2% 2% package tour Source: LNTA 2008 Statistical Report on Tourism in Laos & Luang Namtha PTD Statistical Report The major international tourist markets for Luang Namtha are independent travelers. Main long haul source markets are the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Australia, Canada, USA and Japan. This long-haul group is presently seen as an important market for Luang Namtha province because of their interest in trekking activities, visiting ethnic villages and participation in other types of adventure activities such as visits to caves, waterfall,
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