Tourism Industry Growth during the Period of the Development: Xaythany District Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR

Abstract

Xaythany is a small town in Vientiane Capital that consists of many tourist attractions. There are some top destinations for domestic and foreign arrival such as Manichan Lao Cooking Garden House, Soi Voi waterfall, and Tad Xai Kao Waterfall, which contribute more income to the district and Vientiane Capital. This result acts as evidence of an increase in the tourism business in the period of development. This study focused on the changes or growth of the tourism industry in the Xaythany district, Vientiane Capital. Qualitative methods (Documentary Research Method) and interviews were used in this research. The study found that from 1999 to early 2020, the tourism industry of Xaythany has changed and grown constantly, especially accommodation and restaurants, growing 6.30%, and 4.40% respectively. The highest growth rate of the industry was in 2004 by 200%; the number of travel agencies had increased by 0.16%; and tourism destination was growing and developing in this decade. For the number of tourist arrival, the data was not available, because the tourism authorities did not have any records, only the statistical center of Xaythany district illustrated that in 2017 total of 3,102 tourists visited Xaythany district, including 30 foreigners. On the other hand, the growth of the tourism industry is not balancing between accommodation and the number of tourists, because some hotels and guest houses were announced for sale. Regarding income, there had no specific information about the income of tourism from the relevant sectors, it was included in the revenue of the commercial and service sector, which was the second earning after the industry and construction sector. For the souvenir sector, the product was not enough and it needed to be developed. In addition, the authority of Xaythany planned to promote tourism by creating tourism activities for increasing the number of tourists by organizing traditional festivals and caravans to activate the Xaythany economy in the future.