Laos expects more foreign tourists to visit the country this year and has adjusted its 2014 projection figures upward after numbers for last year had already surpassed a government estimation for 2015.
A Lao family get their photograph taken in front of the King Anouvong statue in Vientiane. The statue is a landmark in the capital visited by locals and tourists. (AP photo)
The country's latest forecast of visitors this year is 3.9 million, about 400,000 more than its earlier projection, a tourism official told the Vientiane Times.
Laos had predicted 3.7 million tourists in 2015 but the figure reached and surpassed the plan last year, the newspaper on Thursday quoted Bounthavy Sisava of the National Tourism Administration as saying.
Last year 3.79 million tourists went to Laos, circulating US$13.5 million (430 million baht) in its economy. More than 2 million visitors came from Thailand.
Mr Bounthavy said the political turmoil in Thailand will not deter Thais from visiting the country this year.