The World Heritage town of Luang Prabang has won a ‘Top City Gold Award' from England’s leading travel magazine, Wanderlust. The magazine placed Luang Prabang, an ancient city in the north of Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage site, in the top spot on its list of travel destinations announced at the annual Wanderlust Travel Awards 2008, held at Earl's Court in London, UK, on January 31. “We didn't expect to win the award because the judges hadn't told us the good news beforehand,” said the Deputy Governor of Luang Prabang province, Dr Khampheng Saysompheng. He flew to London with his delegation to receive the award. Luang Prabang was voted into the magazine's top ten, out of 615 cities, before the decision was made to give it the gold award. More conventional holiday spots such as Venice, San Francisco and Sydney also featured in the top ten. A poll of the magazine's readers found a satisfaction rating of more than 97 percent among those who had visited Luang Prabang. This is the third time the town has received a gold award from the magazine, also winning the top spot in 2006 and 2007. Dr Khampheng, who returned home with the award, said on Tuesday it represented the pride of the Lao people, especially those who lived in Luang Prabang. He thanked the magazine's executive board and its readers who had voted Luang Prabang into top place. “This award will encourage us to work harder to preserve and develop the town in a sustainable way,” Dr Khampheng said. The 1,200-year-old historic town is considered to be among the most beautiful in South East Asia and is renowned as the cultural and religious capital of Laos . “Luang Prabang won the award because it is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by Europeans in the 19th and 20th centuries,” he said “But the most important aspect of the town is the charm of the Lao people,” Dr Khampheng said. In 1995 UNESCO inscribed the town onto its World Heritage List. It became the first world heritage site in Laos , ensuring the preservation of its mixture of traditional Lao and French architecture. Since then, its unique character and charm have helped make it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, for both Lao and foreign visitors. Recently the world's most famous newspaper, the New York Times, named Laos as number one of the world's top 53 tourist destinations to visit in 200 8. By MK. Vongsam-ang (Latest Update February 14, 2008)
The more is not the better. The visitors would strain the town resources amd you will have more peoples, more lodgings, more garbages, more buses, more fumes and more pollution.
The more is not the better. The visitors would strain the town resources amd you will have more peoples, more lodgings, more garbages, more buses, more fumes and more pollution.
Only the stupid people would think like this. Other civilized people would think about the profit from their business: the more customers the better.
No doubt, we need to maintain the weakness to be less impact. Turnning the weakness to getting profit is the way of clever people.
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You want to have a lot more tourists in Luang Prabang and you want to make more profit? Who have more profit, the town people or the business peoples?
Of course the business men/women will have more profit. You don't consider business people part of the population? Anybody can make profits as long as they're not being lazy.
You want to have a lot more tourists in Luang Prabang and you want to make more profit? Who have more profit, the town people or the business peoples?
Your comment, in my opinion, underlines the inability of Khon Lao to handle such situations. Though you maybe pragmatic, be a bit realistic and give credit to the people in Luang Phrabang, I am sure they can handle such things. Tourists will buy anything, remember, they have to live off the city while they stay there.
You want to have a lot more tourists in Luang Prabang and you want to make more profit? Who have more profit, the town people or the business peoples?
Yes, the business people would gain more profit as some people said earlier, no doubt. One rule of socialism, if I remember, is "work hard get more".
But if we do not look only on our feet, we will see all Lao people will gain directly and indirectly from this business:
Our country can earn some money from tourists, such as money for visa.
The people doing business involved with tourism industry have to pay tax Lao autorities. This money would definitely go for building roads, bridges and other thing infrastructures which all Lao people can use. That would make our lives more colorful and comfortable.
If these business people get rich, they also can expand their business, then jobs would be created. People can find jobs, finally their lives would be improved, no doubt.
