This morning witnessed a large number of people flocked to Laos-China Railway Vientiane Station to travel outside the capital city with the majority of them choosing Luang Prabang and Vangvieng as their top destinations for New Year celebration.
The Laos-China Railway Company is currently operating two round trips, including one temporary round trip operated during New Year celebration – Dec 30, 2021-Jan 3, 2022 – to meet travel demand.
The government announced early last month the opening of green travel zones in Vientiane, Vangvieng – a district in Vientiane Province – and Luang Prabang to foreign visitors under the Lao Green Travel Zone scheme.
The plan has been split into three phases with the first one beginning today, Jan 1, 2022 for green travel zones in Vientiane, Vangvieng of Vientiane (province), and Luang Prabang; and green travel trails in Oudomxay, Xayaboury, Xieng Khuang, Khammuan, and Champassak.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the plan will be kicked off on April 1, 2022 with the opening of more green travel zones in Vientiane, Vientiane (province), Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Xayaboury, Xieng Khuang, Khammuan, Savannakhet and Champassak; and green travel trails in Huayxay of Bokeo, Luang Namtha of the same name province, Xekong and Saravan.
Meanwhile the third phase is for the full reopening of the country from July 1, 2022 onward.
Visitors wanting to visit the Lao PDR are required to arraign their trips through tour agents, have been vaccinated with at least two doses of Covid-19 vaccine for at least 14 days, and tested negative to Covid-19 with RT PCR within 72 hours prior to arriving in Laos. They also need to download Lao Stay Safe application, be protected by a minimum insurance coverage of US$50,000, and undergo RT PCR test on arrival at the port of entry and wait 24 hours for the test result.
Source: Lao News Agency