In an effort to promote Malaysia’s tourism products and packages, Tourism Malaysia Vientiane has organised a week-long roadshow to three cities in Laos, namely Champasak, Vientiane, and Savannakhet.

Taking place from 20th to 27th May 2023, the roadshow was packed with business-to-business (B2B) sessions and networking lunches, bringing together state tourism boards, travel agents, and product owners from both countries.

10 tourism industry players from Malaysia participated in the roadshow in hybrid: Sabah Tourism Board, AirAsia, KL Tower, Ancasa Hotels & Resorts, Mercure Hotel Kuala Lumpur, CitizenM Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Columbia Leisure, Wynn Travel, Asia Delight, and Dynamic Tour. Meanwhile, the roadshow welcomed 26 Laotian travel agents in Champasak, 49 Laotian travel agents in Vientiane, and 35 Laotian travel agents as well as local media in Savannakhet.

Also invited to the session in Vientiane was H.E. Ambassador Edi Irwan, the Ambassador of Malaysia to Laos to participate as a guest of honour. “For 2023, Malaysia has set its target of 16.1 million international tourist arrivals with RM 49.2 billion in tourism revenue. We sincerely look forward to working closely with the local travel agents here in Laos,” said H.E. Ambassador Edi Irwan during his welcoming remarks at the networking lunch.

Leading the participants from Malaysia, Ms Zalina Ahmad, Deputy Director of International Promotion Division – Southeast Asia, Tourism Malaysia also express her appreciation for the local travel agents’ continuous support in promoting Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Ms Sordaly Chanthavong, Marketing Manager of Tourism Malaysia in Laos also extended her wish for the programme’s success: “Rest assured that we will lend our hands at any time to support any new travel package initiatives to bring in more Laotian tourists to Malaysia. We hope to inspire and motivate our travel trade partners to confidently promote and sell Malaysia, and in return succeed in Laos.”

Ms Sordaly also shared the great news of direct flights from Vientiane to Kuala Lumpur that will be offered starting from 4th August 2023 onwards with three (3) flights per week. Currently, Laos doesn’t have direct air connectivity to Malaysia.

In 2019, Malaysia welcomed 26,955 arrivals from Laos. Following Malaysia’s international border reopening in April 2022, 7,010 Laotian tourist arrivals were recorded to Malaysia.