The Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism Enterprises in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic: An Initial Assessment

of the Lao PDR’s major tourism destinations in August 2019 and May 2020. Results indicate that in May 2020 about half of the surveyed enterprises were temporarily closed. About 70% of the surveyed enterprises had reduced employees, with employee numbers falling by 38%. The negative impact was larger among enterprises that target international guests than among those that primarily serve domestic guests. Promotion of domestic tourism could be a key part of the Lao PDR’s COVID-19 recovery plan.