More than 2.2 million people visited Laos in the first six months of this year, up about 5 percent compared to last year, according to the Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

An official in charge who asked not to be named told Vientiane Times he believed visitor numbers were up because of the ongoing Visit Laos-China Year campaign.

Visitors from China had increased by13 percent and Vietnamese visitors by 11 percent, although the number of visitors from Thailand, who make up the bulk of Laos’ foreign tourists, rose by only 1 percent.

In contrast, the number coming from the Republic of Korea sank by 20 percent and Japanese tourist arrivals were down by 13 percent.

The official said the decline in arrivals from some countries was due to circumstances beyond the authorities’ control. Some people stayed away because they were unsure of the quality of services here. And although Laos has many enticing tourism products there are several annoyances, such as poor road access to tourist sites.

Officials expect that more than 1 million Chinese out of an overall total of 4.5 million visitors will come to Laos during Visit Laos-China Year 2019.

To reach the government’s target of 4.5 million tourists, provinces have improved their services and created more visitor facilities.

They have also arranged various activities and upgraded tourist sites. Vangvieng district in Vientiane province has improved the quality of services and made changes to the price of food, accommodation and the fees charged at tourist attractions.

In Luang Prabang, restaurants have added Chinese dishes to their menus and signs written in Chinese have been installed at popular tourist sites.

In Luang Namtha province the authorities have improved services at the border crossing with China and are encouraging officials to supply useful information to Chinese visitors.

Xekong province has improved infrastructure, notably access to some of its scenic attractions. Laos has 670 hotels, 2,432 resorts and guesthouses, 2,646 restaurants and 305 entertainment venues, according to a 2018 statistics report from the Tourism Development Department. There are also 1,318 officially designated nature-based sites, 596 cultural attractions and 294 places of historical interest. Of these, 817 are operational, 1,040 are registered, and 590 are under development.

During Visit Laos Year 2018, at least 800,000 Chinese tourists visited Laos, an increase of 26 percent over the previous year. More than 4.1 million visitors came to Laos overall – an 8.2 percent increase compared to 2017.

By Siladda Souliyong

(Latest Update July 30, 2019)

Available from July 29 and marking National Avocado Day on July 31, Booking.com has created the worlds first avocado-shaped camper.

Located at Campbell’s Cove Lookout at Sydney’s Circular Quay for a limited time, the Avo-Condo is a custom-built, self-contained condo, which resembles half an avocado on the outside and is complete with avocado-themed furnishings on the inside – all with a world-class view.

For two nights, lucky travellers will have the chance to live the ultimate millennial’s dream and experience a once-in-a-lifetime sleepover overlooking the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House inside a giant avocado! Guests will also enjoy a hamper of avocado-themed goodies during their stay.

The Avo-Condo will be available exclusively on Booking.com for two nights only – July 31 (National Avocado Day) and August 1 – so ‘avo’ fans must be quick to avoid missing out. At 6am (9am Australian time) on Monday July 29, consumers across the globe will be able to book one of the two nights available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Inspired by the world’s obsession with all things avocado, the Avo-Condo is a fun, quintessentially Australian experience like no other. With more than 6 million holiday homes, apartments and other unique stays available on Booking.com, there’s something for everyone to discover,” said Luke Wilson, Area Manager at Booking.com Australia.

You can book the world’s first Avo-Condo by visit Booking.com on July 29 to book your once-in-a-lifetime stay in the Avo-Condo for A$100 (Bt2,200) a night.

The Aco-condo is located at Campbell’s Cove Lookout, 4 Circular Quay Way, The Rocks, NSW 2000. Go towww.booking.com/hotel/au/avocondo.th

According to a statement received by The Jakarta Post, the maiden flight landed at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, on July 17 at 7:30 p.m. local time.

The flight carried a total of 258 passengers, comprising 250 adults and eight children.

Read also: Earthquake hits Bali during Galungan celebrations

For the route, Turkey’s national flag carrier uses the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft has 300 seats; 30 in business class and 270 in economy.

The Istanbul-Bali service will be available three times a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday until the end of July. The carrier is said to start operating the route daily in August. (jes/kes)

The new lounge will be another reason for customers to arrive early, rest and recharge in a welcoming atmosphere before their flight.

Located near Departure Gate D69 in Pudong Airport’s Terminal 2 building, the new lounge occupies a space of 970 square metres and follows the inviting style developed by Studioilse, the London-based studio led by Ilse Crawford, seen in Cathay Pacific’s newest lounges across its global network.

“Our premium passengers can now look forward to a multitude of new and improved features at the lounge, especially when it comes to the F&B options they can enjoy,” enthused Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo.

Passengers leave the hustle and bustle of the airport behind as soon as they reach the reception area, where they are transported to an oasis of serenity designed to reflect the comforts of a modern apartment. The space is stylishly accentuated with natural materials such as cherry wood and limestone, while the medley of different leather and Alcantara-upholstered designer furniture is set up in such a way as to allow guests to socialise in open areas or wind down more privately in peace and solitude.

A highlight of the lounge is the Terrace, an L-shaped, open-ceiling verandah that allows guests to take in views of the apron and runway while seated at one of the dining tables or in bespoke Solo Chairs, which come with a built-in reading lamp and individual side table.

The design of the Terrace is similarly reflected in the open-ceiling food hall, where passengers wanting pre-flight refreshment can enjoy self-serve international hot and cold dishes, freshly baked treats, cheeses and cold cuts. A variety of wines and spirits are also available at the self-service bar, giving guests the ability to mix their favourite pre-flight cocktails.

The always-popular Noodle Bar, a signature feature of Cathay Pacific’s global lounges, is also making its debut in mainland China. Channelling Hong Kong’s beloved tea houses, the open-kitchen Noodle Bar offers a combination of communal long tables and private booths within a stylish dining area complete with hanging lights and dark-wood ceiling fans. Here visitors can order freshly prepared wonton egg noodles with soup – a Cantonese classic – or perk up before their flight with a spicy Sichuan province special in the form of dan dan noodles. Also on the menu are some Shanghai specialities including hand-made, soup-filled xiao long bao dumplings among the dim sum dishes served daily.

High-speed Wi-Fi and Flight Information Display System screens ensure passengers are able to relax, refresh and recharge without worry before their flight.

The Shanghai Pudong Cathay Pacific Lounge is open to First and Business Class passengers, Marco Polo Club Silver members and above, oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members, and members of all tiers holding a valid lounge pass. It operates from 5.30am to 9pm daily.

The series also honours the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Locals as well as tourists will this year enjoy highlight activities that include Jackie Chan International Action Film Week which is now running and will end on July 27, the second Youth Games of China from August 8-18, Datong Cycle Classic in August, Datong International Marathon in September, Shanxi Chess Championship, and China (Datong) International Photography Culture Exhibition of 2019, among others.

The Datong Yungang culture and tourism series has been held for 20 consecutive years since 2000, increasing Datong’s reputation as a historical and cultural city, national new energy demonstration city, national garden city as well as Chinese sculpture capital.

“Datong has been putting its focus on culture and tourism for the resource-based city’s transformation towards high-quality development,” said the city’s mayor, Wu Hongwen.

New breakthroughs have been achieved in policy guidance, project development, business innovation and brand building, Wu noted.

The efforts brought Datong over 33 million domestic tourists in the first half of 2019, up nearly 23 per cent over the previous year, and with tourism revenue totalling over 28 billion yuan (Bt126 billion), up more than 25 per cent on year.

The China Datong Tourism Development Index, developed by the Datong and China Economic Information Service, demonstrates the growth of Datong tourism in recent years with tourist volume, consumption level and attention potential rising by over 15 per cent, 10 per cent and 73 per cent year on year respectively, in the first half of this year.

The 22nd version of the 10-day festival, hosted by the Boryeong municipality at the mud flats of this city on South Korea’s west coast draws revellers from Korea and abroad to Daecheon Beach.

Boryeong is famous for its wide mudflats and high-quality mud that is rich in minerals and known to help prevent ageing. Since 1998, the South Korean city has held the mud festival as part of efforts to promote the natural resources in the region.

This year’s festival carries the slogan “Go Boryeong, Play Mud” and invites visitors to experience mud sliding, mud wrestling, mud baths and everything muddy in the mud flats, as well as to make mud-based cosmetics, ride on yachts and perform in a flash mob featuring mud, music, dance and swimming.

Other programme include an obstacle race in mud, called the Mud Run, which was introduced for the first time last year and there’s also a global food zone is in the streets around the beach offers hungry souls a variety of cuisines.

The fields, covering an area of 3 million mu (2,000 sq km), are part of the Xihaigu Region in Ningxia, a place once known as the “most unsuitable for human inhabitation”. Its ecological environment was very fragile, with drought, bare mountains and no crops growing on the ground.But now it is regarded as “China’s most beautiful dry land terraced fields”.

Guyuan city has gradually improved its environmental quality by vigorously implementing ecological measures, such as returning farmland to forestry and grasslands, afforestation, ecological migration and pollution reduction. Many birds and animals that had not been seen for many years have returned.

Visitors to the palace in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, are now required to make reservations on its website or at a ticket window to ensure entry to the site.

Visitors can reserve tickets one day in advance at ticket windows while online reservations are available up to seven days in advance, the office said.

Each visitor can reserve a maximum of five tickets online.

The reservation window is open daily from 8 am until tickets for the following day are sold out.

Xiaoyu, a tourist from Shandong province, said this would be his first time touring Lhasa, and he was excited about visiting Potala Palace. “I prefer buying tickets online, as lining up under the hot sun is not easy. Online reservations are efficient and fast,” he said.

Tian Kuigang, a sales manager at a local travel agency, said the ticket reservation system helps avoid overcrowding at popular sites.

“During the peak season, it’s necessary. Otherwise, all the tourists will be crowded together at ticket windows,” Tian said.

The palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

Another major tourist attraction in the region, Jokhang Temple, has also begun on-site ticket reservation services, with reservations taken daily between 3 pm and 7 pm.

Architectural preservation is a concern, and the ticket reservation periods are timed so as to prevent overcrowding and stress on structures, Tibet Daily reported.

The region’s peak tourism period is from May to October. In off-peak periods, the region’s tourism authorities began offering bargains on hotels, flights and tickets to scenic spots in February 2018 as a way of attracting more tourists.

The region saw more than 13 million visitors in the first half of 2019, up 20 percent year-on-year, according to the region’s tourism development department.

The region raked in 14.93 billion yuan ($2.17 billion) in tourism revenue in the same period, up 19.8 percent year-on-year, according to the department.