Impact of tourism

Due to the influx of backpackers, Vang Vieng locals have seen drastic changes in their community.^[12] In recent years, Vang Vieng has become a stop on the Southeast Asia backpacker circuit and the main street has many guest houses, bars, restaurants, internet cafes and tour agencies.^[12]

There are concerns that the town is in danger of losing its charm as it becomes full of tourists, mushroom shakes, and episodes of Friends, a US sitcom shown in many bars.^[13] The New Zealand Herald wrote, "If teenagers ruled the world, it might resemble Vang Vieng".^[14] Safety measures for the tubing have been described as "non-existent". Tubing combined with heavy drinking has resulted in tourist drownings.^[15] It was reported that 22 tourists died on the river in 2011.^[16]

The Lao government is planning to put more controls on the urban sprawl of Vang Vieng,^[17] while the Laos National Tourism Administration has "awareness programs" that ask tourists to "respect and strictly follow the rules, regulations, tradition and cultures of the Lao people", while also educating local people to maintain the Lao identity, way of life, tradition, and culture and not imitate tourist behaviour.^[18] Vang Vieng is known to have a problem with drugs, which are easily accessible to both tourists and local children.^[19]

Locals have said that tubing and tourism are destroying the town's culture and encouraging crime among children, while loud music destroys the area's tranquility.^[20] A report on the future of tourism in Vang Vieng found that many budget tubers were "oblivious to, or uncaring about, the types of social, economic and environmental impact they are associated with."^[1] A master plan for Vang Vieng notes that local grievances include pollution, inappropriate behaviour of tourists and environmental damage.^[21]

Brett Dakin, the author of Another Quiet American, a chronicle of two years in Laos working for the tourist authority, said, "Each time a young Australian woman strolls down the street in a bikini, a bearded American smokes a joint on a guesthouse terrace, or a group of Koreans tumbles drunkenly out of a restaurant, it saps a little more of the essence of a town like Vang Vieng."^[18]

Crime

As of June 2014, the US State Department says that although Laos generally has a low rate of violent crime, "some tourists have been robbed and sexually assaulted".^[22] Many restaurants in the Vang Vieng area offer menu items, particularly "pizzas", "shakes", or "teas" that may contain unknown substances or opiates. These products are often advertised as "happy" or "special" items. These unknown substances or opiates can be dangerous, causing serious illness or even death.^[22]

Tourist deaths and injuries

Vang Vieng's hospital recorded 27 tourist deaths in 2011 due to drowning or diving head first into rocks.^[23] Most fatalities occur on the same bar-heavy stretch of river that's less than 1 km long. In a 2012 interview with The Guardian newspaper, a senior doctor at the Vang Vieng Hospital, Dr Chit, said the overall figure is higher because "many fatalities are taken straight to Vientiane".^[23] In early 2012, two Australian backpackers died within a month. Dr Chit said 5 to 10 backpackers a day arrive at the local hospital with injuries such as broken bones or infected gashes, or sickness caused by alcohol intoxication or other drugs. "There are no safety measures or supervision, no helmets," says Dr Chit. "We're not equipped to treat anything serious."^[23]

The Guardian reported that tourist deaths have brought a sense of bad karma for Laotian villagers living near the river. Today, local people avoid the river, once a part of everyday life for bathing, playing, fishing, and washing clothes. "We don't want to swim in the river any more," explains La Phengxayya, 25, a primary school teacher in Phoudindaeng, the village closest to the tubing area. "We believe there are evil spirits in the water because so many young foreigners have died.".^[23]

Government crackdown

In the third quarter of 2012, the Lao government carried out a crackdown in Vang Vieng, pulling down all the riverside bars. Tubing is still going on, but in a much more controlled fashion.^[24]

By October 2013, one climbing instructor was reported to have said that visitors are now spending more time participating in activities such as climbing, kayaking, and mountain biking. "Vang Vieng has come back to us again… it's like it used to be", he was quoted as saying.^[25]

Around the same time, the Bangkok Post reported that although the number of Westerners has dropped, visitors from Japan, China, and South Korea are on the rise, making up for the loss. The changing trend posed a new problem as tourists from Asia did not favour cheap accommodation and preferred more upmarket places, the report added.^[26]