Before 2012 there were countless bars along the river all competing for customers and every week the bars would have to up the ante to draw in the tourists.
“It would start with innocent things such as table tennis, swimming pools, loud music and free shots. Then eventually bars started to build their own swings and slides,” says travel blogger David Simpson, founder of The Travel Fugitive. One of these slides was known as “the death slide”, with a lip so that sliders would fly off into the river.
Given this cocktail of risks, accidental deaths of tourists became alarmingly frequent. By 2011 the local hospital recorded 27 deaths in total, around one every two weeks, either from drowning or falling from heights. A staggering number for a small town. The true figure may have been higher, because it did not take into account those whisked to Vientiane. The government had to act.
“There does need to be an element of taking these decisions out of the hands of drunk backpackers,” Simpson adds. “And there was.”
In 2012, in response to the constant death and injury, the authorities made a concerted effort to clean up Vang Vieng’s image, by embracing eco and adventure tourism, as well as tourists from China, Korea and Japan. Licensing hours were restricted, with most venues closing by 11pm. Within a few years, many of the bars where the majority of fatalities had occurred had been shut down, although opium pizza and magic mushroom shakes were still available on some menus.
Tubing remains on offer, but in a more controlled manner, says Lewis Brown. “Tipsy tubing is the reason a lot of people end up in Vang Vieng, it’s their most famous thing. It was dangerous 20 years ago but they clamped down on how dangerous it was. Now it’s just very fun.”
Simpson agrees: “Getting rid of the tubing altogether would have affected not just the town but the country’s tourism industry,” he says.
At the same time, the town has diversified its tourist attractions. It is now a destination for adrenaline tourism, with motorbike tours, caving, quad biking, climbing, hot-air ballooning and hiking giving it a much cleaner image. When Berlin-based travel and adventure filmmaker Joe Baur visited Vang Vieng last year, he was struck by the quietness of the place, in contrast to its wild reputation. The Vang Vieng he experienced, he says, was a chilled mix of locals and foreigners wandering around the different restaurants and food stalls off the main strip.
“It surprised us, since we knew it was one of the main stops in Laos,” he recalls. “We watched the sunset at a nice cafe, had delicious street food and went to the vegetarian restaurant in town.
“Luang Prabang [another popular tourist town] appeared far rowdier, comparatively. We didn’t see anything comparable in Vang Vieng.”
The tourism industry in Laos
Tourism is a vital industry for Laos, which is one of the poorest countries in south-east Asia. Most Laotians still live in the countryside, and it ranks 142 out of 184 countries for economic freedom. While neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand have rapidly modernised in recent decades, Laos has lagged behind since 1975, when the communist Pathet Lao group overthrew the Royalist government.
When the young people were taken ill, they were taken across the border to Bangkok, which has world-class hospitals. Before the pandemic, tourism was responsible for 12.5 per cent of the country’s GDP. It had rebounded over the past two years, with more than 2.3 million visitors in the first seven months of this year, which the government had branded Visit Laos Year.
As one of the country’s most famous destinations, Vang Vieng has been a key part of that drive. These deaths raise the question of whether the town has truly succeeded in cleaning up its act. “Vang Vieng is one of the most beautiful places in the region, with amazing people, and I hope it recovers,” says Simpson. “However, currently all my thoughts are with the friends and family of these victims.”
Locals and visitors alike will hope this tragedy is a one-off, and does not deter travellers from a country which badly needs the business. Tourism operators will hope for stricter rules on alcohol.
For the family and friends of Simone White, and the five other young people who have died awful, avoidable deaths, it is too late.