Amid the success of the China-Laos Railway in further connecting the two countries, the Lao government is ready to announce a visa-free arrangement for Chinese tourists as part of Visit Laos Year 2024, according to a senior Lao official.

Lao Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Darany Phommavongsa said that the government is expected to confirm the policy by the end of June.

"The policy will be mainly focused on the travelers that are accompanied by travel agents," Darany said during a Monday group interview with journalists from China and the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

The journalists are on an eight-day media tour along the China-Laos Railway organized by the Chinese Mission to ASEAN and China Daily, which began on Sunday.

With tourism being a key priority of the country's socioeconomic growth, Laos has designated this year as Visit Laos Year.

Under the slogan "Laos: A Paradise of Culture, Nature and History", the program aims to promote tourism and attract more international tourists to visit the country.

"The opening of the Laos-China Railway has made a great contribution to the Visit Laos Year 2024 in facilitating the travel of both domestic and international tourists, allowing tourists to have fun and a good travel experience," said Darany.

The Laos-China Railway Company — the China-Laos joint venture running the railway's Laotian section — has actively cooperated in providing tourism services, as well as participating along the railway route to promote Lao's tourist destinations, Darany said.

"Since we have operated the railway, the number of visitors keeps increasing dramatically," said Darany.

The Laos-China Railway, which is also expected to be connected to Thailand and Malaysia at some stage, is "a symbol of Laos-China friendship of the modern era, a strategic project of Laos to transform a landlocked country into a connected country, making the dreams and aspirations of the Lao people come true", said Darany.

She said the success of the Laos-China Railway is a result of the joint implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, which both countries must continue to pay attention to as they aim to achieve high-quality development and continuously upgrade actual cooperation.

"The government of the Lao PDR aims to develop the Laos-China railway to become an economic corridor that generates huge income for the nation," she said, noting the railway has contributed to the country's economic situation.

Since the cross-border passenger service between Vientiane and Kunming, China's Yunnan province, began on April 13 last year, the route has welcomed 172,023 passengers, she said.

"As 2024 is the Visit Laos Year, we hope that we will have more tourists coming to Laos," said Darany, noting that Laos welcomed more than 3.4 million international visitors in 2023.

China was the third-largest source of tourists for Laos in 2023, with more than 600,000 visiting the country. Darany said she expects the number to further grow to 800,000 this year.

Darany said the government is also providing short training courses to the tourism industry, including Chinese-language tour guide training and hospitality service training for managers and staff.

Apart from the visa exemption for Chinese visitors, more international visitors from targeted markets will benefit from free multiple-entry visas and the extension of stays from 30 to 60 days, Darany said.