Laos Plans to Welcome Fully Vaccinated Tourists from 2022
The government of Laos has informed about the reopening of the country to international visitors who have received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Laos plans to welcome fully vaccinated tourists at the beginning of the upcoming year. The reopening is to be executed under the Lao Travel Green Zone Plan.
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Lao Travel Green Zone Plan
Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Vang Beng are three areas recognized as green zones. The Vietnamese authorities decided to establish international entry points in Lao (Thai Friendship Bridge) and Vientiane (the Wattay Intl. Airport).
Under this scheme, foreign travelers will be able to book tour package and travel to Laos if they provide the following documents:
- a valid Laos visa
- a vaccination certificate (confirming that the last COVID-19 vaccination dose was administered at least 14 days before the entry date to Laos)
- a certificate of entry
- a negative COVID-19 PCR test result (it must be taken within 72 hours prior to the departure time)
All arrivals to Laos will need to stay at one of the certified hotels for 24 hours until they receive the negative coronavirus test result. Only with the negative test, they will be allowed to enter the cities of the Green Zone area.
3 Phases of Lao Reopening
Phase 1
It will last from 1st January to 31st March 2022. The list of countries eligible to visit from the beginning of 2022 includes:
- Vietnam
- China
- Thailand
- Cambodia
- South Korea
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- France
- Japan
- Germany
- Holland
- United Kingdom
- USA
- Australia
- Italy
- Spain
- Canada
Phase 2
The second phase is planned to start on 1st April 2022 and will include the same countries as in the first phase.
Phase 3
Details of the third phase are to be revealed soon.
e-Visa to Laos
Laos introduced an electronic visa in 2019 simplifying and speeding up the entire application process for all travelers coming from e-visa eligible countries. To obtain an online visa to Laos, every applicant must only fill out and submit an online application.
Laos e-Visa is issued as a single-entry permit remaining valid for 2 months from its issuance date. Its holder can enter Laos once and stay for up to 1 month if the travel purpose is related either to tourism or business.
All travelers coming from non-visa-exempt countries need to obtain a visa to Laos before a trip.
COVID-19 situation in Laos
On average, Laos is currently reporting around 1,400 new coronavirus cases per day. On December 11th, the country reported the highest daily average peak of 93%.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the country has recorded over 93,000 infections and over 250 coronavirus-related deaths. These numbers are not so high when compared to some other countries in the world.
As it comes to vaccination progress, Laos has administered over 5,800,000 COVID-19 vaccines, which accounts for around 40.7% of the entire Lao population being immunized with two vaccine doses.
