Assessment of Tourism Resources and Status in Savannakhet Province

2.2.3. Social culture

a. Education

The province's general education system is developed with a system from kindergarten, primary school, middle school and high school.

In 2008, the whole province had 215 kindergartens, 1,155 primary schools with 3,820 classrooms, so every village had a primary school. The number of primary school teachers was

4,048 people, the total number of primary school students is 66,380 students. Secondary schools have 145 schools with 1,045 classrooms and 2,210 teachers. Secondary school students have 28,954 and high school students have 15,250.

Regarding higher education: There is currently 01 state-run university and 4 private universities in economics, administration and engineering.

There are also 04 colleges including 01 teacher training college, 01 technical school, 01 medical school and an arts college.

b. Medical

The province's health system is spread evenly across the districts and villages. The province has 1 provincial hospital and 15 district hospitals. There are 105 health stations. There are a total of 715 hospital beds with 1,197 medical staff, including 188 doctors. Currently, health care has been given attention, and epidemics have been monitored and managed.

+ Society: Previously, poverty reigned in the province, especially in mountainous districts. The poverty rate of the whole province in 1992-93: 53.0%, the period of 1997-98: 41.9% ( 2005 census data ), by 2001 it was 30.7% and in 2006 it was only 16.6%. Currently, this rate fluctuates between 10-20% depending on the district. The living conditions and social indicators of the province have now improved significantly, demonstrated through the development and expansion of roads, transportation networks and health care services. In the plain districts, 70-85% of villages have roads and electricity. In mountainous districts, the rate is lower, however, most villages have access to health and education services.

Since the East-West Economic Corridor project, the Lao government has wanted to turn this road into a driving force for Laos' development, so in February 2002, a decision was made to build the Savan-Seno special economic zone for the province. This economic zone is being invested in and built to put into operation.

2.3. Assessment of tourism resources and status in Savannakhet province

2.3.1. Tourism potential of Savannakhet province

a. Geographical location advantage : The province has a favorable geographical location on the Mekong River, bordering two countries Thailand and Vietnam. On the East-West economic corridor, the province has Friendship Bridge 2 connecting to Thailand, and Highway 9 connecting to Vietnam through the Delsavan and Lao Bao border gates. The province is the gateway to the East of both Laos and Thailand.

The province is also located on the North-South trans-Asian route from China to Cambodia on National Highway 13, so the province can strongly develop the transportation and transit of goods on these routes.

The province as well as the whole of Laos has a lot of potential for natural and cultural tourism.

b. Natural tourism potential

- Natural Protected Areas: In Savannakhet, there are 3 large natural reserves: Pu Xang Hae, Dong Nadet and Don Phou Vieng. These are forests located in the midland and mountainous areas of the province. The forests here include evergreen closed forests, dry deciduous forests, and mixed deciduous forests. Animals include elephants, tigers, jungle cats, pangolins, hornbills, crested birds, and red-headed vultures.

The protected areas are also home to many Lao ethnic groups with many sacred rituals. In the protected areas, there are many forests considered sacred forests by ethnic groups, many Indochina war relics, and a part of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh trail. There may be tracking tourist routes (hiking). The main form of tourism here is community ecotourism.

- Scenic spots: In the western mountainous region of Savannakhet in the upper reaches of the Xebanghiang River, there are many beautiful waterfalls such as Salaen Falls and Sakhoy Falls. Scenic streams include Kong Phanang and Sammattak.

- Dinosaur fossils.

In 1936, a French geologist, José Heilman Hoffet, while surveying and mapping the geology of Laos in Savanakhet province, found dinosaur fossils in the Tang Vay village area, Sonbuly district and Naxay village, Phalanxay district. Then in 1990, 1991 and 1992, Lao-French archaeological teams found many dinosaur fossil sites in other districts of the province. The whole province found 5 areas with dinosaur traces in 5 districts, of which 16 locations were excavated and dinosaur footprints and skeletons were found. Currently, the artifacts are displayed at the dinosaur fossil museum located at the Department of Science and Technology.

The province has so far listed 48 sites with natural tourism potential that have been classified according to management levels such as national, provincial and district levels. National sites are large ecological reserves within the Lao protected areas system. Provincial sites are special forests and large reservoirs, while most of the remaining landscapes have local significance.

c. Potential for cultural tourism : The province has many famous pagodas, towers and festivals. Almost every village has a pagoda, and the pagodas have a very unique beauty. This is a prominent tourist attraction of Savannakhet. Currently, there are 47 cultural tourism resources, including 25 pagodas, towers and monuments and 17 other historical and cultural relics. Specifically, there are some famous tourist attractions such as:

- That Inghang Pagoda, located in Ban That Inghang, Kaysone City, This is a pagoda built during the Sikhottabong Empire of King Sumitatham 2000 years ago. The pagoda was rebuilt in 1548. The pagoda has a 9 meter high tower, a sacred tower of the Southern Laos region like other famous pagodas of Laos such as Thap Luong.

- That Xayaphoum Pagoda: Located in Ban Xayaphoum on the banks of the Mekong River, built in 1542, this is a pagoda built in the style and architecture of the Savannakhet region as a place to worship Buddha. The pagoda is also the place where boat racing festivals are held on the Mekong River.

- That Phon, Ban Phon, Muang Saiphouthong, The tower was built in the 16th century. This is the most sacred tower in the province, at the same time as That Phanom tower in Thailand. Every year on the full moon of February, a festival is held at this tower.

- That Nang Lao, Ban That, Muang Viraburi: Nang Lao Tower, located 290 km from the town, is a Lao tower with interesting architecture believed to have been built in the 19th century.

King Anou (1805-1828) was the one who sent his wife to rule the Phou Tai ethnic minority region. The name of the tower, Lady Lao, reflects the fact that she governed the Phu Tai region.

- Festivals: The province has some famous festivals such as: Boun Khoun Khao Rice Harvest Festival (Rice Ceremony) this is a festival in Song Khon district to thank the land for the crops held according to the Buddhist calendar. Boat Racing Festival (Boat Racing Festival) Boun Ok Pansa and Boun Souang Heua on the fasting weekend of March of the Buddhist calendar on the Mekong River combined with some provinces along the river such as Vienchant, Champasak.

- Other potentials for humanistic tourism: In Savanakhet, there are many historical and cultural relics such as the ancient Ho Tay Pidok library located in Ban Nonglamchan, Champhone district, 90km east of Kayxon city. Ho Tay Pidok is a valuable architectural work, a temple that functions as a real library. The temple was built in the 18th century and currently holds 4,000 manuscripts written on palm leaf paper. This is a collection of Buddhist documents written in ancient Lao Khom-Pali and Lao characters written 200 years ago.

In addition, the province also has many archaeological sites that can be exploited for tourism.

d. Advantages of tourism linkage between provinces, national linkage and regional linkage on the East-West economic corridor

Savannakhet also benefits from its connectivity with Lao provinces, connectivity on the East-West Economic Corridor, national connectivity and regional connectivity created through cooperation and development policies among the Mekong sub-region countries, including the East-West Economic Corridor Initiative, the Biodiversity Initiative, etc.

- Advantages and impacts of the East-West Economic Corridor.

The formation of the East-West Economic Corridor has opened up development advantages for countries in the corridor in general and Savannakhet in particular. This corridor has world heritages recognized by UNESCO, such as Hue (Vietnam) Sukhothai (Southern Thailand) and is also very close to neighboring heritages such as My Son, Hoi An, Phong Nha of Vietnam... The diverse historical and cultural relics on the corridor have created attractive destinations, with a variety of tourism types: nature, culture, history, memories, war, pilgrimage... This attraction also

complement each other and can create unique tourism products for both domestic and foreign tourists.

Tourism is one of the important sectors that benefit from this corridor. Savannakhet borders Quang Tri province of Vietnam to the East. Quang Tri has National Highway 1A running through the province. Quang Tri is also located on the East-West Economic Corridor connecting Myanmar - Northeast Thailand - Laos to Vietnam's seaports, including Cua Viet port. Quang Tri is located on the "Central Heritage Road", with Phong Nha - Ke Bang World Natural Heritage in the North; and World Cultural Heritages such as Hue Imperial City, Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Sanctuary in the South, etc.

The connection between Savannakhet and Quang Tri provinces in the tourism sector will facilitate the exploitation of the rapidly increasing number of tourists from countries along the corridor. People in the Northeast of Thailand and the Central and Lower Laos, who only know the sea on the map, now only need one day to soak in the clear blue water of the famous beautiful beaches along the coast of Quang Tri as well as along the Central coast of Vietnam; the border gates between the two provinces will be places to attract tourists to shop and exchange goods; ... The exploitation and use of the East-West Economic Corridor is an opportunity to connect Savannakhet with Quang Tri province, an opportunity to strengthen cooperation and exchange between the Lao PDR and Vietnam, as well as with other countries in the Mekong Sub-region.

- Advantages and impacts of the Greater Mekong Subregion Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative:

Biodiversity corridors are areas that connect natural ecological regions and allow species living in those ecological regions to interact with each other.

The Mekong Subregion Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative was launched and implemented under the Core Environment Program and the Mekong Subregion Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative (GMS-CEP-BCI) funded by the Partnership for Poverty Reduction Fund of the Governments of the Netherlands and Sweden through the coordinating agency, the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The GMS-CEP-BCI program started in 2006. Through this program, the “Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative” projects are being piloted in many localities in Vietnam as well as in the Mekong Subregion.

With the system of Dong Phou Vieng, Phou Xang Hea and Sebangnouan National Biodiversity Conservation Areas, Savannakhet is a province that plays an important role in developing ecotourism in the whole region, especially in the fields of improving the quality of services and transportation for tourism, providing tourism products, organizing sightseeing routes, developing restaurants, hotels, information centers and tourism services, promoting community-based tourism... Transnational biodiversity conservation corridors are also being established on the basis of cooperation programs and projects between Vietnam, Lao PDR, China,

…

- Advantages from world tourism forum

In July 2009, the World Conference on Ecotourism was organized by the Lao National Tourism Authority in collaboration with Discovery MICE (Malaysian tourism event organizer) in Vientiane with the participation of more than 300 Lao and international delegates.

This conference is an opportunity for Laos in general and Savannakhet province in particular to take further steps in developing ecotourism throughout Laos, promoting its strengths due to its unique cultural and historical characteristics, safety, friendliness, hospitality and high connectivity with neighboring countries. The conference adopted the Vientiane Declaration, which provided directions for the sustainable development of ecotourism worldwide and set standards for other countries to apply within the framework of ecotourism development.

2.3.2. Current status of tourism development in the province

Currently, the main types of tourism in the province are visiting historical sites, pagodas and towers, festivals and community ecotourism.

In the province, there are 48 places that can be exploited for natural tourism. There are 23 tourist spots that are historical relics, 24 cultural tourist spots. The system of motels as of 2008 has 78 motels of all kinds, 16 hotels from 1 to 3 stars, and 5 entertainment supermarkets. However, in 2010 and 2011, this number has been invested in and developed a lot in both quality and quantity.

Every year, there are about 400 thousand visitors to the province. Previously, there were not many tourists, but since 2004, with the upgrading of traffic routes and

With the expansion of the East-West Economic Corridor, the number of tourists has increased rapidly. The most tourists visiting Savannakhet are from Thailand and Vietnam. The tourists who travel on the picnic routes in the forest reserves are European tourists. From 2000, there were 140,224 visitors, and in 2008, this number increased to 420,809 visitors. As of 2011, in Savannakhet, there were 11 companies organizing tourism activities and 6 small branches, this number increased more than 2 times compared to 2008, proving that tourism is becoming an economic sector that generates revenue for the province.

Table 2.5: Tourist facilities in Savannakhet province

Year

Hotel	Guest house	Food store	Entertainment facilities
2002	9	21	14	9
2003	8	45	47	6
2004	11	49	47	5
2005	10	57	53	4
2006	10	62	53	8
2007	16	78	53	8
2010	18	108	139	6
2011	24	118	139	26

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(Source: Lao National Statistical Office)

Savannakhet is a province with great tourism potential but has not been exploited. Currently, because it is located between Vietnam and Thailand, the province only plays a transit role for visitors from Vietnam to Thailand and vice versa. The number of visitors passing through is quite large but the length of stay in the province is small. If visitors visit Laos, they often go through Savannakhet to Vientiane and neighboring provinces. Therefore, the goal of Savannakhet is to increase investment in tourism development and passenger and freight transport services. Build new and improve the quality of tourism facilities, promote and exploit eco-tourism and cross-country tourism routes.

Kaysone Phongvihan City is the main center for sightseeing and festival tourism and is the starting point for eco-tours currently being exploited.

The lower tourist center is in Phine town. Currently, there are few tourist facilities here. However, with its geographical location in the center of the province and the center of Route 9, this will be a resting place for tourists when visiting Laos. From Phine, you can make trips to neighboring districts, especially to Dong Phu Vieng conservation forest, a quite wild and attractive eco-tourism destination for tourists.

2.4. Tourism development orientation of Savannakhet province and solutions

Based on the above statistical information, it can be seen that Savannakhet is a province with a lot of natural and human potential for tourism development; at the same time, the advantages created by the use and exploitation of the East-West Economic Corridor make those potentials more likely to become reality than ever. However, in order to be able to use reasonably and sustainably exploit the province's tourism resources and advantages, there needs to be specific development orientations and solutions such as:

2.4.1. Orientations on tourism space planning

- It is necessary to build favorable areas for tourism development with natural and socio-economic potentials such as : Savan - Senon Special Economic Zone, free trade zones at border gates (Densavan - Lao Bao and Lao - Thai Friendship Bridge), economic dynamic belts as well as national and provincial forest reserves.

- Build priority tourism development areas to create tourist centers.

Kaysone Phonvihane City is the political, defense, economic, cultural and social center of Savannakhet Province, where agencies and offices of state and international organizations are concentrated, and a center for services, trade and exchange of goods domestically and internationally. The city has National Highway 9 running through it, which is a strategic route for East-West economic and commercial activities. The city is becoming one of the main tourist centers serving sightseeing and festival tours and is the starting point for eco-tours currently being exploited.

Towns that need investment to become new tourist centers are Phin town and Champhone town.

Phin is a mountainous district of Savannakhet province, 162km from Kaysone city, with an area of 300,000ha, a population of 53,441 people, most of whom are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. The district has Dong Phu Vieng forest reserve with many species of wood.

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