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Flows of People
In the SEA CLIR TRADE region, Laos, not surprisingly, sees the lowest flow of people across its borders. Yet, land-locked Laos has seen its share of visitors rise dramatically. When Laos opened it its borders to Westerners in 1988, only 600 persons visited, staying well within the official limit of 1,000. In 2005, over 47,000 visitors from the US alone crossed the border. Total arrivals in 2005 passed the 1 million mark with 1,095,315 visitors arriving. By far the largest contingent, over sixty percent, arrived from Thailand (603,189), the second largest group coming from Vietnam (165,151). The US (47,427) ranked third and was followed by China (39,210) and France (35,371). Foreign-exchange revenues registered $146 million in 2005, up from $113 million in 2002. Laos is targeting two million arrivals generating $290 million by 2010.
Overall, within Lao laws, public and private institutions, significant improvements have been made in the facilitation of the flows of trade-related people. The Lao government has lessened legal travel restrictions, streamlined processes and upgraded its automation. For example, as recently as 1990, the government had a monopoly on the tourism industry, and tourism was limited to group travel. Travel is open to the private sector now, and business has flourished.
In this chapter, we analyze legal, institutional and operational constraints that impede trade-related people flows. First, our analysis focuses on legal framework for trade-related visits. Second, we consider the institutional issues regarding people flows. Third, we review other key institutions involved in facilitation, such as police. Lastly, we identify major recommendations to improve facilitation of trade-related people flows.
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