Laos' New Golf Courses Attracting Crowds Of South Korean Investors, Golfers

A "big jump in South Korean tourist arrivals in Laos is being attributed to the lure of new golf courses" in the ancient capital Luang Prabang and in the current capital Vientiane, according to the DPA. Korean investors have built and now manage several golf courses in the land-locked communist country, "where land and water are still abundant and labour is cheap." Additionally, golf course fees in Laos "are a fraction of what they are in South Korea, where the game is a national passion." Figures gathered by the Tourism Development Department revealed that the number of Korean tourists visiting Laos from January to September '12 was almost 40,000, "representing a 50% increase compared to the same period the previous year" (DPA, 1/21).