Limitations in Tourism Market Development in Luang Prabang Province and Causes

Fourthly, organizations, individuals and businesses of all economic sectors have recognized the great potential, efficiency and benefits gained from doing business on the tourism market, so they have been investing in tourism business. Luang Prabang businesses have focused on organizing the exploitation of the province's tourism resources to create unique, diverse and attractive tourism products for tourists. The image of Laos, the land and people of Laos in the homeland of Luang Prabang is increasingly known to many countries in the world and people throughout the country with beautiful scenery, many festivals, unique customs, the homeland of traditional craft villages, and hospitable people.

Fifth , national defense, security and social order and safety are always of concern to all sectors, levels and localities, creating peace of mind and trust among tourists as well as investors.

Sixth , the international environment has many advantages. In the 21st century, the world situation has undergone profound changes with unprecedented leaps in science and technology. Globalization is an objective trend, and tourism demand has increased sharply. The flow of world tourists tends to shift from developed tourism centers to tourism markets of developing countries. Southeast Asia and the East Asia - Pacific region are tourism markets that increasingly attract a large number of tourists to natural tourist attractions and traditional national cultures. This place will welcome a large number of international tourists in the coming years.

3.3.2. Limitations in tourism market development in Luang Prabang province and causes

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3.3.2.1. Limitations

Firstly, the tourism industry is still at a low level of development. Tourist demand is diverse with many different objects, but low visitor spending leads to low total demand in the market despite the increasing number of visitors. Mainly domestic visitors, visitors are only concentrated in some areas such as: Luong Pra Bang city, Pac U district, Muong Ngoi, Phu Khun, Chom Phet,... Due to low revenue, the ability to contribute to the local budget is limited.

The scale and quality of supply are still limited, not stimulating demand. Cooperation between businesses in exploiting tourist sources is still limited. Some hotels and additional services are poor, monotonous, and do not meet the needs of tourists. The quality of means of transport and ensuring safety for tourists still reveal many shortcomings. Many sections of roads leading to tourist destinations are damaged but have not been repaired in time. Tourism goods and services on the market are not abundant, the quality is uneven, and the competitiveness is low.

There are still many issues to consider regarding prices and competition in the market. Prices are formed according to the market mechanism, because of the profit target, there is a phenomenon of price increase. During the tourist season, especially the festival season, the phenomenon of competition to buy and sell with different prices makes consumers unable to determine the value of the goods. Competition is mainly based on traditional advantages in labor and tourism resources.

State management of tourism and tourism business activities is still inadequate, the coordination mechanism lacks synchronization and unity, making the process of operation, direction and management difficult. There is a lack of mechanisms and policies suitable to the actual development situation.

Second, the market has not yet attracted large investment projects for high-end tourism products, and investment efficiency is not high. Investment is concentrated and lacks focus; investment in technical facilities, tourism infrastructure, conservation and restoration of tourism resources is still limited, not commensurate with the potential and needs of tourism development. The work of building investment projects and mobilizing economic sectors to participate in market development is still slow. Investment in business, construction, and tourism infrastructure architecture is not according to planning, does not comply with administrative procedures and urban architecture, and has not carefully studied the supply-demand relationship in the tourism market.

Third, workers in the market have not received basic and systematic professional training. Professional qualifications, foreign languages, and communication skills to adapt to the market mechanism of workers have not met the requirements.

meet the increasing needs of tourists. Seasonal contract workers often have low professional qualifications and lack professionalism. The number of tour guides in the province is still small, in some places, the tour guides are local children who do not ensure quality and damage the image of the tourist destination.

Fourth, the coordination of business activities of sectors, levels and enterprises in the tourism market is not close and synchronous. The coordination of tourism business activities with other economic sectors in the province is not regular and close in both awareness and action. Many establishments, points and tourist areas invested in construction have not really coordinated smoothly between tourism and other economic sectors such as post and telecommunications, electricity, transportation, army, police, etc.

Fifth, the negative impacts of the market mechanism in some places tend to increase. In some localities in the province with tourism potential, spontaneous tourism development is taking place following personal and local interests. Some businesses do not have business licenses, do business for the wrong purposes, causing loss of revenue to the budget, and evading obligations to the State and local authorities.

Mass tourism activities have degraded tourism resources. In some tourist areas, water is polluted and littering is happening, affecting the natural environment. Forest areas are decreasing, and land in tourist areas is being occupied by people. Some rare animals are at risk of extinction, and limestone mountains are being exploited daily in large quantities. The irrationality in exploiting tourism potentials sometimes leads to the destruction of ecological landscapes and environments, negatively affecting tourism resources and the strategic defense and security arrangements of the province.

3.3.2.2. Causes of limitations

Firstly, the Lao economy in general and Luang Prabang province in particular have a low starting point, mainly agricultural economy, low per capita income. Lao tourism market is newly developed, facing fierce competitive pressure in the region and the world. In recent years, there have been many complex fluctuations affecting

Negative impacts on Lao tourism, including Luang Prabang, such as the global economic and financial crisis, political events in the Gulf region, terrorism, epidemics, etc., have significantly affected the psychology of tourists in source markets.

Second, the role of tourism development has not been properly assessed. Many places only focus on exploiting resources to serve immediate business interests, not paying attention to sustainable development, so the socio-economic efficiency is not high, sometimes even harming the interests of the community. There is a lack of major policies for tourism, not really closely linked to the overall development strategy of the whole industry, as well as the connection with the markets.

Third, when developing the plan, the market dynamics were not fully calculated, especially the multi-dimensional impacts of the economic integration and opening process. There was a lack of measures to ensure the implementation of the plan, so the specific goals were not qualified for implementation or were not implemented effectively. The management of land for construction of works in tourist spots, areas, accommodation facilities, and tourism business infrastructure was still arbitrary. The determination of focus and key points in the plan was unclear, sometimes scattered. Tourism products were not created according to the planned schedule and goals.

Fourth, the level of education and living standards of the people are still low and unstable. Most domestic tourists organize their own trips, they only spend their main spending on accommodation and food, tourism activities are not highly socialized. The work of educating and propagating people about the environment, society, law, national defense and security for the people in some localities is still monotonous and lax, in some places there is almost no attention to proper investment.

Chapter 4

ORIENTATIONS AND SOLUTIONS TO PROMOTE TOURISM MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN LUONG PRA BANG PROVINCE TO 2025 AND VISION TO 2030

4.1. CONTEXT AND DIRECTIONS FOR TOURISM MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN LUONG PRA BANG PROVINCE TO 2025 AND VISION TO 2030

4.1.1. Forecast of the context and development trends of the tourism market in Luang Prabang province to 2025 and vision to 2030

4.1.1.1. International context

The current international context and the next 10 years will still have complex developments. The trend of globalization and international economic integration, the global tourism demand continues to increase along with the shift of international tourist flows to the Asia-Pacific region, opening up opportunities for tourism development in countries in this region, including the Lao PDR. Laos became an official member of ASEAN in 1997; a member of the WTO in 2013; the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 and a member of many important international tourism organizations such as: UN-WTO, UNESCO, the German International Cooperation Organization (GIZ), the European Union (EU), the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), PATA, etc. Laos' position in the international arena has been improved and clearly affirmed, creating many conditions for Lao tourism to develop. The trend of developing knowledge economy globally goes hand in hand with the expansion of high technology, especially information technology, communication technology, network technology and opens up many opportunities for global tourism activities.

In 2013, Lao PDR was selected as the most visited country in the world by the European Tourism Alliance and the award ceremony was held on 9 May 2013 in the capital Vientiane. This has created a new role for Lao PDR in the international arena [1, p.7].

However, political, economic and security instability during this period also occurred on a large scale. Most countries in the world adjusted

strategy, economic restructuring, economic institutional innovation, application of scientific and technological advances for development, including Southeast Asia, continues to be a dynamic development center, with an increasingly important strategic geo-economic and political position... is a region of strategic competition between a number of major countries, with many unstable factors. The world is facing unpredictable impacts of climate change, increasingly serious natural disasters. Financial crisis, science and technology, employment issues, etc. These globally influential factors have affected tourism demand and international tourist flows, both positively and negatively affecting tourism.

4.1.1.2. Forecast and development trends of the tourism market of the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Nowadays, the world economy is growing very fast, people's living standards and incomes are getting higher and higher, and the needs of all aspects of life are increasing, in which tourism needs are becoming essential in social life. In the country, the political and social situation is stable, the macro-economy is growing according to the socialist-oriented market mechanism, increasing investment to expand the scale of export-oriented development, restructuring the economy, stabilizing macro-policies, the infrastructure system is increasingly improved, and the prestige and political and diplomatic position of Laos are increasingly enhanced. The results of many years of continuous economic growth at a high speed have brought Laos out of the crisis and gradually integrated with the region and the world. Achievements in economics, politics, society, and diplomacy have increasingly affirmed Laos' position in the international arena. Laos has been able to successfully host and organize many major international events such as: SEA GAMES 25, ASEM 9 and other important conferences; Laos officially became a member of the WTO on February 2, 2013, etc., which has opened up opportunities and created conditions for economic sectors, including tourism, to grow. In 1999, the whole country held a national tourism festival, a major event affirming the position, stature, potential and achievements in economic, cultural and social development of Laos throughout its history. That important milestone brought

Laos is entering a new era, developing to new heights.

However, many sectors and fields have not yet had plans, so the synchronization and effectiveness of the planning implementation are not high. Many development targets set in the plan with an optimistic attitude far exceed the actual achievements, so they are not achieved. Many negative impacts of the growth process that have not been anticipated and evaluated are valuable lessons learned in the past development period. In 2010, Laos completed the implementation of the 5-year socio-economic development strategy and plan, 2005-2010, and entered a new development period with many new opportunities and challenges.

The overall plan for Lao tourism development in the period of 2006 - 2010 was specified by the Party and State in the 6th 5-year socio-economic development guidelines and functions for the Northern provinces: "It is an area with many favorable conditions, rich in agriculture - forestry, construction of hydroelectric power plants, minerals, tourism and with a geographical location associated with 4 neighboring countries such as: China, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar".

Promote ecotourism in 3 provinces such as: "Luong Nam Tha province, Bo Keo province and Xay Nha Bu Ly province; historical tourism in 2 provinces such as: Xieng Khouang province and Hua Phan province and cultural tourism in Luang Prabang province to facilitate profitable production, increase income and reduce poverty [19, pp.118-119].

The 9th National Party Congress pointed out: "We must continue to make breakthroughs to build the foundation and create favorable conditions to bring the country out of underdeveloped countries in 2020 and continue to move forward sustainably on the path to socialism". The development strategy for the next decade is oriented towards restructuring the economy and changing the growth model, gradually shifting to in-depth development with quality, efficiency and sustainability. Specifically, the socio-economic development strategy must adopt 4 breakthroughs such as: (1) Breakthrough in thinking; (2) Breakthrough in human resource development; (3) Breakthrough in solving the system of mechanisms, regimes, and reforming State administrative procedures; (4) Breakthrough in solving poverty alleviation for the people with the exploitation of

capital sources and create special policies, build targeted economic and social infrastructure.

Regarding tourism, the 9th National Party Congress pointed out: "Promote ecological, cultural and historical tourism with many types, full of colors, becoming green and sustainable tourist areas with the participation of the people" [20, p.69; 77].

Thanks to that, tourism has become a spearhead industry and full of opportunities, and the tourism market has developed strongly worldwide. In the coming years, the international tourism market will have fundamental changes such as: tourists tend to travel in Asia, they tend to travel to nature, learn about culture and history,... and choose tourist destinations that are considered safe. At the same time, economic growth in this region changes the global tourist market. The main development trends of the world tourism market will be as follows:

Firstly, the process of regionalization and globalization promotes the increasing supply and demand of tourism, so businesses are strongly linked together to coexist in competition and become a popular trend.

Second, the development of tourism products and market segments is increasingly diversified due to the participation of many countries in tourism activities.

Third, tourism promotion has been expanded and become more effective thanks to the development of modern science and technology, especially information technology, which has created high possibilities in choosing tourism products, and tourists can easily access tourism service providers. This is an extremely important activity of vital importance to businesses providing tourism goods and services as well as to the tourism industry in general and to a country in particular.

Fourth, the needs of tourists are diverse and complex with the increasing demand for tourism in sightseeing, learning about national culture and history and exploration; green tourism, eco-tourism and environmental tourism are developing strongly in many countries.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic is a country located in the center of Southeast Asia. In addition, due to its geographical, economic - political and resource advantages as well as its role and position in regional cooperation, TTDL has many favorable conditions to enhance development in the integration trend of the region.

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