Air Busan adds Busan-Vientiane route

Air Busan adds Busan-Vientiane route

Air Busan Co., a South Korean budget carrier, said Monday it has begun to offer flights on a route from a provincial airport to Vientiane, Laos, as part of its route diversification efforts.

Air Busan began servicing the route from the southern port city of Busan, 453 kilometers south of Seoul, to the capital city of Laos with a 195-seat A321 passenger jet, the company said in a statement.

The budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc. currently operates 15 A321-200 jets and six smaller A320-200s, all leased and with up to 220 seats, to serve four domestic routes and 24 international routes. In 2020, it plans to bring in the A321-200 NEO.

South Korean airlines have diversified their routes to offset lower travel demand from China amid ongoing political tensions between the two countries over the deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea to deter North Korean provocations.

In March, Beijing banned the sale of group tour packages to South Korea in apparent retaliation against the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which it argues could be used to spy on its military.


Air Busan's A321-200 passenger jet (Yonhap) Air Busan's A321-200 passenger jet (Yonhap)

~News courtesy of Yonhap News~

Laos pins hopes on welcoming 5 million visitors in 2018

Laos pins hopes on welcoming 5 million visitors in 2018


Luang Prabang in Laos (Source: visit-laos.com)

Laos launched a ceremony to initiate it National Tourism Year 2018 in the capital city Vientiane on October 28.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Bosengkham Vongdala, among others.

Minister Bosengkham Vongdala said the country’s tourism development policy has worked productively over the past years.

In 2000, the country greeted only 737,208 visitors and earned revenues of 113.9 million USD. In 2015, the figures were 4,684,429 visitors and 725.4 million USD.

It is estimated that the number of tourists to the country will hit over 6.2 million who bring in revenues of over 993.4 million USD by 2020.

The Lao Government has set to attract around 5 million tourists and reaped earnings of 900 million USD for 2018.

The National Tourism Year 2018 will focus on explorations of the country’s history, nature, and cultural value preservation and promotion.

The Vientiane event will be followed by a series of activities to be held at Laos’s embassies in Europe, Asia and other countries around the world alongside traditional festivals in localities across Laos.

Tourism is regarded as the economic spearhead sector, which has received a lot of priorities from the Government.

The Lao Government viewed that tourism development will enable it to expand cooperation with other countries.

~Courtesy of Vientiane Times~