Updated on Nov. 25, 2024, 04:34 p.m.
Business owners in the Lao tourist town of Vang Vieng say they are already seeing a decline in revenue after foreign tourists consumed drinks suspected of being laced with methanol on a night out in the riverside backpacker hub, as the town’s mayor reportedly promised justice for six victims of the incident.
Two young Australian women, a British woman, two young Danish women and an American man have died, and about a dozen more people were reported to be sick, after going out for drinks on Nov. 12 in the town that has for years been a laid-back stop for young Western travelers.
While authorities have ordered inspections of tourist venues and are carrying out an investigation of the incident, business owners in Vang Vieng told RFA Lao there had already been a drop in tourism in the town.
One bar owner said that foreign tourists are “much more careful” when they visit her establishment.
“Yes, we’ve started to see some impact,” she said. “We’ve seen a decrease in the number of foreign customers.”
District mayor Bounchan Malavong told media on the weekend that authorities had responded quickly to the deaths, investigating and taking measures including inspecting restaurants and entertainment venues to ensure that safety standards are upheld and to protect tourists.
“Bounchan Malavong … addressed the media about the ongoing investigation and the measures being taken to bring justice to the deceased,” the Laotian Times newspaper reported.
“The mayor acknowledged that the incident has negatively impacted the image of tourism in Vang Vieng and Laos but reassured the public that tourism in the area remains strong, with both domestic and international visitors continuing to come.”
However, another business owner said that bars and entertainment venues had been hit hard by the incident, as fewer tourists are visiting and the sale of alcoholic beverages is lower than usual.
“Tourists are more vigilant when they order alcohol and some are afraid of buying alcoholic beverages at all,” he said. “I hope that the tourism committee will hold a thorough investigation over this incident and release its findings to the public soon.”
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Reuters news agency cited Mark Jones, the father of 19-year-old Australian Bianca Jones, who was among the victims, calling on the Lao government to ensure such a tragedy isn’t repeated.
“We can’t have the passing of our daughter ... not lead to change to protect others,” he said at a press conference on Sunday. “Young men and women should be able to travel, create their own life experiences and be safe. We’ll forever miss our beautiful girl and hope her loss of life has not been in vain.”
The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condolences on Friday and emphasized its commitment to investigating the incident and holding those responsible accountable.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the ministry said.
Tourism decline
Laos has not officially confirmed the cause of the poisonings though a Thai hospital, where one of the victims died, said it was methanol.
The Laotian Times said investigations were underway to determine the cause and the results, once confirmed, would be shared with foreign countries.
Since the incident, authorities in other provinces that rely on foreign tourism have issued warnings to restaurants, bars and entertainment venues over the sale of illegal and unlicensed goods.
On Nov. 22, the director of the Champasak Provincial Department of Information, Culture and Tourism ordered its offices in the province’s nine districts to carry out spot inspections of establishments serving food and beverages, to ensure safety for visiting tourists.
In Xiengkhouang province, an official in the tourism sector confirmed to RFA that relevant offices had already begun regular checks on all restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues in the province that sell alcohol.
Embassy warnings
Details of how the tourists came to drink tainted alcohol in Vang Vieng are sketchy and it is not clear if they were all drinking at the same bar.
However, a cheap hotel where at least some of the victims are known to have stayed, the Nana Backpackers Hostel, had been temporarily closed, the Laotian Times reported. The hostel’s Vietnamese manager has been detained for questioning, according to the AFP news agency, which didn’t name them.
Several governments, including the Australian, British, New Zealand and U.S., have updated their travel advisories to warn of the dangers of tainted alcohol in Laos.
“Please be alert to the potential risk of methanol poisoning, especially when consuming spirit-based alcoholic drinks,” the U.S. embassy said.
“Purchase alcoholic beverages and drinks from licensed liquor stores, bars, and hotels. Avoid homemade alcoholic drinks. Check liquor bottles for signs of tampering or counterfeiting, such as labels with poor print quality or incorrect spelling.”
Lucy Davison, a British national who was among the victims of the incident in Vang Vieng, said in a video posted to her Tiktok account on Nov. 22 that she had to fight for her life in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Vientiane for days after being poisoned in Vang Vieng.
“It’s really normal for hostels in Southeast Asia to offer happy hour where you get free drinks,” she said, adding that her table had received a bottle of “locally sourced Lao vodka.”
@lucygdavison METHANOL POSIONING in Laos⚠️⚠️ Failed at making it concise and short so apologies if i waffled - if travelling south east asia, please be careful at what alcohol you are consuming! - last monday i was one of the british nationals who suffered methanol posioning in vang vieng in Laos. The hostel i drank the methanol from was the same hostel that has been named in the press. - my symptoms started 15 hours after consumption and were severe nausea, lucid, vision impairment, vomitting and high fever. I was put into ICU for 24 hours and spent the next 4 days recovering in the hospital. - There has been links to another bar however i can 100% say i got my methanol poisoning from the said hostel ⚠️⚠️ If you have similar symptoms, please get yourself checked at a hospital , my reccomendend hospital below, - 📍 KASEMRAD international hospital, 450 years RD, donnokkoum village, Sisattanak district, Vientiane, PDR 0103 #laos #hospital #methanolpoisoning #traveltiktok #southeastasia #alcohol
♬ original sound - Lucy_Davison
Davison said she wanted to post information about what happened to her and her boyfriend with the hope that no one else will have to go through what she called “the worst two weeks of our lives.”
“If you are traveling to Southeast Asia, please stick to bottled beers, corked wine,” she said. “Please be vigilant about what you put into your bodies.”
Methanol is a clear, tasteless liquid that can be used to boost the alcohol content of drinks, often with fatal consequences.
Mass methanol poisonings occur with grim frequency around the world.
The aid group Doctors Without Borders said some 1,200 people have fallen ill from drinking methanol-laced drinks in the past year, with 394 deaths worldwide, many of them in Asia.
Translated by Phouvong. Edited by Taejun Kang, Mike Firn and Joshua Lipes.
This story has been updated to include remarks from one of the fathers of the victims, information about what actions authorities have taken since the incident, and a TikTok post by one of the victims who survived the ordeal.