Laos tourism grew from 14,400 recorded arrivals in 1990 to 4,791,065 in 2019, before the 2020 collapse and a measured reopening in 2022. The available figures also show how tourism revenue and average international stay changed over time, while first-half 2024 data identifies Thailand, Vietnam, and China as the largest reported visitor markets.
Contents
- Long-term growth in arrivals
- Tourism revenue over time
- Average international stay
- The 2020 shock and 2022 recovery
- Monthly arrivals in 2022
- First-half 2024 visitor markets
Long-term growth in arrivals
The Lao Tourism Statistical Report in 2022 records a long expansion in international tourism. Laos had 14,400 tourist arrivals in 1990. Arrivals then reached 37,613 in 1991, 87,571 in 1992, and 102,946 in 1993. The report records 146,155 arrivals in 1994 and 346,460 in 1995.
Growth continued through the second half of the 1990s. Laos recorded 403,000 arrivals in 1996, 463,200 in 1997, 500,200 in 1998, and 614,278 in 1999. The 2000 total was 737,208 arrivals. These figures describe the number of recorded tourist arrivals, not a count of unique people.
The early 2000s included both increases and declines. Arrivals were 673,823 in 2001 and 735,662 in 2002, followed by 636,361 in 2003. The report then records 894,806 arrivals in 2004, 1,095,315 in 2005, 1,215,106 in 2006, and 1,623,943 in 2007. In 2008, arrivals reached 1,736,787, followed by 2,008,363 in 2009.
The next three years brought further growth: 2,513,028 arrivals in 2010, 2,723,564 in 2011, and 3,330,072 in 2012. Laos recorded 3,779,490 arrivals in 2013 and 4,158,719 in 2014. The 2015 total was 4,684,429, the highest reported figure in the available pre-2020 sequence up to that point.
Arrivals did not rise every year after 2015. The report records 4,239,047 in 2016 and 3,868,838 in 2017, followed by 4,186,432 in 2018 and 4,791,065 in 2019. The 2019 figure is the highest annual arrival total listed in this historical series.
| Year | Tourist arrivals | Tourism revenue | Average international stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 14,400 | Not reported in the table | Not reported in the table |
| 2000 | 737,208 | USD 113.90 million | 5.5 days |
| 2010 | 2,513,028 | USD 381.67 million | 7.0 days |
| 2015 | 4,684,429 | USD 725.37 million | 7.5 days |
| 2019 | 4,791,065 | USD 934.71 million | 7.93 days |
| 2020 | 886,447 | USD 213.37 million | 7.93 days |
| 2022 | 1,294,365 | USD 264.51 million | 9.67 days |
Source for the table: [Lao Tourism Statistical Report in 2022] (source label supplied with the historical series; no direct URL was provided).
Tourism revenue over time
The same Lao Tourism Statistical Report records tourism revenue alongside arrivals. Revenue was USD 2.25 million in 1991 and USD 4.51 million in 1992. It reached USD 6.28 million in 1993, USD 7.56 million in 1994, and USD 24.74 million in 1995. The 1996 total was USD 43.59 million, followed by USD 73.28 million in 1997 and USD 79.96 million in 1998.
Reported revenue rose to USD 97.27 million in 1999 and USD 113.90 million in 2000. The report records USD 103.79 million in 2001, USD 113.41 million in 2002, and USD 87.30 million in 2003. Revenue then increased to USD 118.95 million in 2004, USD 146.77 million in 2005, USD 173.25 million in 2006, and USD 233.30 million in 2007.
In 2008, tourism revenue was USD 275.52 million. The 2009 figure was USD 267.70 million, followed by USD 381.67 million in 2010 and USD 406.18 million in 2011. Revenue reached USD 506.02 million in 2012, USD 595.91 million in 2013, and USD 641.64 million in 2014.
The report lists USD 725.37 million in 2015, USD 724.19 million in 2016, and USD 648.07 million in 2017. Revenue then rose to USD 811.01 million in 2018 and USD 934.71 million in 2019. The listed 2020 revenue was USD 213.37 million, and the 2022 figure was USD 264.51 million. The 1990 entry gives USD 14,400 as the tourism-revenue field value, but the report notes that tourism revenue was not yet reported in the table for that year; it should not be treated as a comparable reported revenue figure.
Average international stay
The Lao Tourism Statistical Report provides average international stay figures for most years from 1993 onward. The average was 3.5 days in 1993 and 5.1 days in 1994. It was 4.3 days in 1995, 4.1 days in 1996, 5.0 days in 1997, and 5.0 days in 1998. The 1999 and 2000 averages were both 5.5 days.
The reported average rose to 8.0 days in 2001, then moved to 6.5 days in 2002 and 6.0 days in 2003. It was 6.5 days in 2004, 7.0 days in 2005, 7.0 days in 2006, and 7.0 days in 2007. The average was 6.5 days in 2008 and 7.0 days in 2009.
For 2010 and 2011, the report records 7.0 days. The average was 7.2 days in 2012 and 8.4 days in 2013, then 7.9 days in 2014 and 7.5 days in 2015. The reported figures for 2016 and 2017 were 7.57 and 8.39 days, respectively. They were 7.99 days in 2018 and 7.93 days in 2019 and 2020. In 2022, the average international stay was 9.67 days.
These are annual average international-stay figures as reported in the statistical report. They are not a promise about the length of an individual trip and should not be read as a forecast for future visitors.
The 2020 shock and 2022 recovery
The historical series records 886,447 tourist arrivals in 2020, compared with 4,791,065 in 2019. Tourism revenue was USD 213.37 million in 2020, compared with USD 934.71 million in 2019. The average international stay was listed as 7.93 days in both years.
For 2022, the report records 1,294,365 tourist arrivals, USD 264.51 million in tourism revenue, and a 9.67-day average international stay. The 2022 arrival total is presented as an annual figure in the report; the monthly entries below provide the reported monthly pattern for that year.
Monthly arrivals in 2022
The Lao Tourism Statistical Report in 2022 records very low monthly arrivals from January through April. January had 30 tourist arrivals, February had 128, March had 266, and April had 122. May recorded 36,006 arrivals, followed by 175,419 in June.
The later months in the report were July, 133,673 arrivals; August, 157,489; September, 146,024; October, 211,000; November, 228,550; and December, 205,658. The monthly figures show the reported timing of arrivals within 2022, with the largest listed monthly total in November and the next largest in October.
| Month in 2022 | Tourist arrivals |
|---|---|
| January | 30 |
| February | 128 |
| March | 266 |
| April | 122 |
| May | 36,006 |
| June | 175,419 |
| July | 133,673 |
| August | 157,489 |
| September | 146,024 |
| October | 211,000 |
| November | 228,550 |
| December | 205,658 |
Source: [Lao Tourism Statistical Report in 2022] (source label supplied with the monthly series; no direct URL was provided).
First-half 2024 visitor markets
Tourism Laos reported 2.1 million tourists in Laos during the first half of 2024. The same source reported that first-half 2024 arrivals were 26 percent higher than in the first half of 2023. These are first-half totals and comparisons, not full-year results.
Thailand was the largest listed source market, contributing 680,153 visitors, equal to 32.25 percent of all first-half 2024 arrivals. Vietnam contributed 512,042 visitors, or 24.28 percent. China contributed 510,083 visitors, or 24.18 percent. Together, the reported shares for Thailand, Vietnam, and China identify the three largest listed national markets in this period.
South Korea contributed 134,246 visitors, equal to 6.36 percent of all first-half 2024 arrivals. The United States contributed 37,752 visitors, or 1.79 percent. The percentages are the shares reported by Tourism Laos, while the 2.1 million figure is reported in rounded form.
The source labels for these first-half figures are [Tourism Laos, 2024] (source label supplied with the figures; no direct URL was provided). Because the figures cover only January through June 2024, they should be compared with another first-half period rather than treated as a 2024 annual forecast.