How's Business in Laos? Interview with
Hotelier and MD of EXO Travel Laos, Duangmala Phommavong
For years, the beautiful landlocked country of Laos has
relied on the undeniable strength of Thailand's marketing skills,
and the fact that Bangkok has long been a major transit hub for
backpackers and students heading to Australia and New Zealand on
their year off, to boost its tourism industry.
As such, Laos has often been sold as a +1
destination with
people spending the majority of their time in places like Samui
and Chiang Mai before heading over the border into Laos for a
short stay.
Once there, Laos has a lot of things to do and
see. Some of the country's most famous destinations include Champasak, Luang Prabang - an UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Pakse,
Savannakhet, Vang Vieng, and of course, Vientiane - the capital
city.
But how has the country been impacted by the
ongoing global COVID19 pandemic, how has it targeted and developed the
domestic market, what is happening with hotels in Laos, and
how is the country planning to reopen for tourists?
Those are just some of the many questions Steven
Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com puts to Duangmala Phommavong, a
hotelier and Managing Director of EXO Travel Laos.
In this interview, filmed via Skype on 1 July,
Duangmala gives us an idea of what is happening in Laos,
what she has done with the two hotels - Villa Maly and Parasol
Blanc [pictured above] - that she owns in Luang Prabang, and what
role the growing middle class in the country have played in
helping to develop the domestic tourism market.
We also talk about aviation, hotel development,
and Laos' reliance on Thailand's appeal as a tourist destination.
All that and much, much more in the video and podcast below.
How's Business in Laos? Interview with
Hotelier and MD of EXO Travel Laos, Duangmala Phommavong
PODCAST
Editor's note:
As the above video interview was conducted over the internet, I
would like to apologise that the audio and visual quality are not
up to the same HD/UHD quality that it normally would be. Hopefully it won't be too
long until we are once again conducting exclusive video interviews
more frequently and in person, but for now we have to make do with what we have. Thank
you.
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