In another move toward ASEAN integration, four new ASEAN member nations - Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma - have agreed to expand their aerial linkage to two older members, Thailand and Indonesia, with the aim to attract more tourists to their respective countries and the region as a whole.
Laos itself hopes to increase its tourism revenues to more than $500 million by the year 2013. In 2005, over one million tourists visited Laos, bringing over $140 million to Laos' service and tourism industries.
Listen to our Laos Today report for more of this story.