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Laos Essential Artistry Posting Page
Sunday, August 23, 2009
 We love Sam Neua and Huaphan Province and it will be an important part of our tour next June. But you can see in the article below published August 23, 2009 that getting to Sam Neua is not easy, but if one plans well it's more than worth the time! Above is an aerial photo we took of Sam Neua as the Lao Air Grand Caravan Cessna plane we fly to Sam Neua is coming into land. Access difficulties delay tourism development in Huaphan province Difficulty of access is the main problem hampering development of the tourism industry in Huaphan province. Huaphan Governor, Dr Phankham Viphavanh said without the government's assistance the tourism sector in Huaphan would remain underdeveloped. Dr Phankham called on the government to support four projects associated with tourism and socio-economic development in his province at a meeting held in Vientiane this week between cabinet members and provincial governors. The first project relates to the construction of a new provincial airport to accommodate larger aircraft, enabling Lao Airlines ATR aeroplanes to land. The governor said the government has agreed to provide the province with the means to conduct a feasibility study, and then the government would consider and try to seek funding for the project. The second project regards reconstruction of two roads linking Huaphan province and Vietnam over a length of about 100km, and between Huaphan and Xieng Khuang province at a length of 250km. The current roads are too narrow, with steep gradients and a number of bends. The third scheme is installation of high voltage transmission wires from Xieng Khuang province to Huaphan. The final proposal regards approval of a master plan to develop tourism in Viengxay district . “We would like the government to help us with these four projects, as for the remainder our province will assume responsibilities including encouraging the business sector to participate in developing tourism-related initiatives,” the governor said. “Actually, we have several interesting tourism sites, but tourists still face trouble in visiting our province because of difficulty of access.” “Tourists do not want to spend more time in transit than they do at tourism sites themselves.” Huaphan is 650km north of Vientiane . It's about a 13-hour drive (non-stop) or just over one hour by air from the capital. Tourist arrivals in the province totalled less than 1,000 people in 2005. The figure had increased to 19,000 people in 2008, of whom 7,000 were foreign tourists. The increase was due to more development and better facilities for tourists including hotels and restaurants. In June this year, the province, in cooperation with the National Tourism Administration, held a convoy of vehicles, entitled “Caravan back to Viengxay”. The aim was to rekindle public interest in the importance of this revolutionary base to the emergence of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Viengxay is a tranquil and peaceful town in Xieng Khuang province with 485 limestone caves. These caves include the offices of revolutionary leaders and other caves used for production purposes, hospitals and schools during the revolution. “We have seen tourism development can help alleviate poverty faster while boosting economic growth,” Dr Phankham said. “People in our province have a spirit of hospitality to welcome guests.” “We also have a plan to link our tourism sector with other northern provinces including Luang Prabang, Xayaboury and Xieng Khuang provinces, but our main challenge is still difficulty of access.” by: Laos Essential Artistry 
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