The recent launch of cross border services of passengers on the China-Laos railway on the occasion of the most important holiday for Thailand and Laos has boosted local tourism, which is recovering from the pandemic.
Thailand’s northeastern Nong Khai province has celebrated the Songkran holiday with its neighbor Laos across the Mekong River since cross-border passenger services on the China-Laos railway began Thursday (April 13). .
Jiranun Sakultangphaisal, adviser to the Nong Khai tourism association, said many tourists would spend the night in the northeastern Thai province before traveling to Vientiane, the Laotian capital, some 20km away.
Monnipa Kovitsirikul, President of the Nong Khai Chamber of Commerce, said she hoped Chinese tourists arriving in Laos would travel further afield to explore Nong Khai and the northeastern region of Thailand in general.
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Monnipa said that many business sectors in Nong Khai have benefited from the operation of the China-Laos railway, which has increased employment and brought new opportunities to the local business community. He has also witnessed new investment from Thailand in Nong Khai and intensified efforts by the Thai government to improve local infrastructure.
Thailand’s northeastern Nong Khai province has celebrated the Songkran holiday with its neighbor Laos across the Mekong River since cross-border passenger services on the China-Laos railway began Thursday (April 13). .
The China-Laos railway has also provided Thailand with an important transportation route to access the vast Chinese market. Before, the transportation of goods between China, Laos and Thailand took longer due to poor road conditions. The China-Laos railway has reduced travel time to about 10 hours, making it easier to transport goods such as fruit that require fast delivery.
For Jiranun, a counselor of the tourism association, the China-Laos railway is also a path of friendship that unites Thailand, China and Laos even more closely by increasing people-to-people connectivity and exchanges. She said that more exchanges would facilitate greater understanding, which in turn would facilitate greater cooperation,
