The National Assembly (NA) approved Tuesday a draft amended Tourism Law, aimed at making regulations more comprehensive to stimulate growth in the tourism industry.
Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Prof Bosengkham Vongdara, presented the amendments at the ongoing ordinary NA session, where he told parliamentarians it would "create greater confidence and draw in more tourists to visit Laos".
Under the new additions to the law, food safety standards will be set for entertainment venues to ensure patrons’ health. Restaurants and other service units will be required to ensure food and drinks served to guests are hygienic and reasonably priced.
Entertainment venues will also have to offer quality services and a level of safety, convenience and cleanliness, without producing noise, which disturbs those in surrounding areas. Operators of such venues will also have to be professionally trained.
The newly-amended law will also prohibit the construction of any facility or undertaking of any actions that could lead to structural changes to preserved sites, however restoration works will be allowed at places like That Luang Stupa and Ho Phra Keo.
The amended law does allow development to take place in areas the government has reserved for tourism industry purposes, such as camping grounds and natural viewpoints.
Investors are encouraged to develop tourism business facilities such as hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and trading zones in what the newly added articles describe as "service areas".
Bosengkham said the law was expected to boost investment, trade and domestic production while distributing income to local communities.
Describing the amended law as more comprehensive, the minister said it would serve as a reference to facilitate management of tourism-related affairs including development, advertising and cooperation with foreign countries.
The new law amends 33 existing articles and adds 11 new articles, bringing the total to 90 articles, while 10 parts and 19 chapters remain unchanged.
However the structure of the changes could be altered following recommendations made in Tuesday's debate.