Border crossings surge at Saravan entry point
Great changes are in evidence since the Lalay border crossing was upgraded to an international checkpoint between Saravan province in Laos and Quang Tri province in Vietnam in June 2014. Director of the Saravan provincial Department of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Somchay Ounchit, told Vientiane Times on March 28 that the number of tourists crossing the border had increased eight-fold since 2014. Prior to the opening of the Lalay international checkpoint, only 5,000 tourists crossed this border annually, but the number jumped to over 40,000 in 2016, he said. Since becoming an international checkpoint, more facilities are available at Lalay including visas on arrival, while more big trucks loaded with goods are allowed to cross.
