International tourism, number of arrivals in Laos
Laos: International tourism, number of arrivals was 886,400 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
International tourism, number of arrivals in Laos, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Laos recorded 886,400 for international tourism, number of arrivals in 2020.
That represents a change of down 81.5% on the previous year and down 64.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Laos peaked at 4.79 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 346,000, in 1995.
Laos ranks 106th of 201 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
International tourism, number of arrivals in Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 346,000 | — |
| 1996 | 403,000 | +16.5% |
| 1997 | 463,000 | +14.9% |
| 1998 | 500,000 | +8.0% |
| 1999 | 614,000 | +22.8% |
| 2000 | 737,000 | +20.0% |
| 2001 | 674,000 | -8.5% |
| 2002 | 736,000 | +9.2% |
| 2003 | 636,000 | -13.6% |
| 2004 | 895,000 | +40.7% |
| 2005 | 1.09 million | +22.3% |
| 2006 | 1.22 million | +11.0% |
| 2007 | 1.62 million | +33.7% |
| 2008 | 1.74 million | +7.0% |
| 2009 | 2.01 million | +15.6% |
| 2010 | 2.51 million | +25.1% |
| 2011 | 2.72 million | +8.4% |
| 2012 | 3.33 million | +22.2% |
| 2013 | 3.78 million | +13.5% |
| 2014 | 4.16 million | +10.1% |
| 2015 | 4.68 million | +12.6% |
| 2016 | 4.24 million | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 3.87 million | -8.7% |
| 2018 | 4.19 million | +8.2% |
| 2019 | 4.79 million | +14.5% |
| 2020 | 886,400 | -81.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 465,200 | 346,000 | 614,000 | 5 |
| 2000s | 1.14 million | 636,000 | 2.01 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.83 million | 2.51 million | 4.79 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 886,400 | 886,400 | 886,400 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More private sector data for Laos
- Merchandise trade 124.1% (2025)
- Food imports 12.7% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 61.7% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 10.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 23.2% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 32.8% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 12.38 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,572 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.6762 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 31.87 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Laos?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Laos was 886,400 in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 4.79 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 346,000 in 1995.
- How does Laos rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Laos ranks 106th out of 201 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Laos data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of arrivals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.