Until sometime back, there were various destinations which the lonely traveler would have preferred to explore and among them Laos was a name that figured very frequently. However, from an exotic tourist destination, Laos has now progressed to becoming a strong economic power which has immense potential for imports and exports. Although tourism still remains the most important economic activity there are other sectors as well which have now been explored and which are being promoted by the economic bodies. Laos is basically a landlocked country is the South east part of the Asian continent. Although this country has registered one of the lowest incomes in the world it has still shown potential for growth in various sectors. Among these, tourism is the most important, which is then followed by the manufacturing sector. In particular, this country has a lot of promise for becoming a destination for import and export of automobiles.
A lot of the economic activities of this country happen with the neighbors of Laos which means Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Thailand. Cross border trade is very popular here, which is also a reason why the country has the potential to become a hub for automobile exports. Even though the country has registered the lowest income in the world, there is a lot of potential for exporting utility vehicles to this country since that is a market that can be easily captured. Budget utility vehicles in particular would be very easily marketed and sold in this area.
Apart from manufacturing and automobile exports, the most widely done economic activity is agriculture. More than 80% of the people in Laos are involved in subsistence agriculture with rice dominating all other products. Recently an experimental study has also been undertaken in this area where different varieties of rice have been planted and reared. These include very rare varieties of rice which would have a good economic value in the international market. Minerals and other natural ores are also found in this country and so mining is another important economic activity in this region. At the end of the day, however, one needs to identify potential for new activities that can be promoted and undertaken so that the economy of the region can grow very rapidly.
Because the country is landlocked, exporting of materials will be dependent on its neighbors. However, industries such as automobiles have a very good scope here. Cars and utility vehicles are no longer items of luxury but rather they have become necessities. Since the country does not have production units at present, cars can be exported to Laos to capture a majority of the market here which presents a good business opportunity.