Vang Vieng is strategically located between Vientiane, the national capital of Laos, and the popular UNESCO World Heritage-listed town of Luang Prabang.

The town attracts large numbers of domestic and international tourists who come to enjoy the town’s natural, ecological, scenic, cultural, and recreational features. However, the development pressures triggered by the growing popularity of the town as a tourist destination are creating adverse impacts on the character and environmental qualities of the town, as well as placing existing urban infrastructure under stress.

Hansen Partnership was engaged by Tourism Laos to prepare a master plan for the town to ensure that its intrinsic qualities and features – which are much valued by the local community – were not undermined by future growth and development.

The master plan established a clear vision for the future growth of Vang Vieng, based on extensive fieldwork, consultation with key stakeholders, including community workshops, and a sound appreciation of the development opportunities and challenges facing the town now and in the years ahead.

The master plan addressed four key themes of change:

• town character
• urban growth
• environment
• tourism

As of 2025, this master plan has been nationally endorsed by the Prime Minister of Laos, becoming the first spatial planning initiative in the country to achieve such a distinction. This endorsement marks a critical step in guiding Vang Vieng’s sustainable development and ensures that the town’s unique culture, environment, and infrastructure are preserved as it navigates future growth.

Within this context, the plan provided an implementation program inclusive of costings, as well as planning and urban design guidelines to assist the local authorities in administering the plan.