Luang Prabang has cancelled plans to create more hotels in the town centre in order to comply with advice from UNESCO, according to a heritage official.
The city's heritage office Head Manivone Thoummabouth said the provincial government had decided not to allow foreign investors to restore state buildings and turn them into hotels.
“There are many hotels in the city and if more are built, the area would be too crowded with tourists, causing difficulty for state officials to access their work places,” she told Vientiane Times.
UNESCO sent heritage officials to inspect Luang Prabang at the end of last year to assess how it had changed since being listed as a world heritage town in 1995 .
Ms Manivone said she went to Canada last month to hear results of the inspection. She said UNESCO offered the Lao government 15 recommendations, mainly about managing construction and restoration of buildings in the town.
Provincial authorities hoped to generate income by renting French colonial buildings to investors, who would also agree to build new state offices.
But UNESCO has expressed concern over the increasing number of modern-style buildings in the city centre.
“UNESCO has given us until next year to fulfil its recommendations, otherwise they will issue a red card warning to the government,” she said.
“The government has made a strong commitment that it will do its best to fulfil the recommendations.”
Ms Manivone said provincial authorities would not permit investors to restore a primary school which was attended by Laos ' first president Souphanouvong.
“The investors proposed this to us but we suggested the authorities not accept the proposal and they agreed with us,” she said.
Wetlands and ponds in the town centre had been filled in by people wanting to use the land for construction, Ms Manivone said. The central and local governments agreed to order the owners of such land to restore the wetlands, otherwise the government would do the work and bill the owners.
Ms Manivone expressed confidence the government would act on the recommendations because it had established a National Heritage Committee, which coordinated with local authorities to enforce heritage rules.
Over the past few years, Luang Prabang authorities have rented state buildings to investors, including the provincial hospital, in exchange for construction of new buildings outside the city centre.
I think this is a positive move to balance the development of the city. Otherwise, not only local residents but also local government officials will be forced to move away from the city center and live in the outskirt of the city. Then, the city center will be a city of tourists and tourism industry.
Over the past few years, Luang Prabang authorities have rented state buildings to investors, including the provin'cial hospital, in exchange for construction of new buildings outside the city centre.
Even the prison near Wat Manolom has been turned over to a foreign hotel resort developer...
Some people here think me being all negative was bad. They don't think I don't love Laos. I always love Laos. I always speaking out to let all of you here knows not all development was good.
That is one of my NEGATIVE that turn out to be POSITIVE.
Sorry all you development supporters of "lets build everything because it is good for Lao people and economy". This one is a victory of a supporter of Lao's heritage.
Maybe the decline in tourists causes the development to halt or cancel? It doesn't matter. Out come still the same. Trying to keep Luang Prabang true to it original self before the tourists invasion is good.
