Inside the hidden dangers of tourist hotspot Laos after 4 deaths

Travelers, beware — families are warning about a popular vacation destination after a series of deaths exposed the country’s dark underbelly.

From tainted booze to deadly insects and unexploded bombs, the US government and travelers are urging caution for travelers to Laos.

Sandwiched between Vietnam and Thailand, the land-locked country has seen tourism numbers soar in recent years, more than doubling from 1.3 million to 3.4 million between 2022 and 2023, rebounding toward the pre-Covid high of 4.8 million in 2019, according to official figures.

Now, the parents of two teenagers who died after drinking ethanol-tainted alcohol on vacation last year are urging people not to visit.

The warning comes days after an American teacher and his son died after being swarmed by Asian giant hornets — which can grow to two inches.

Best friends Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, died in November 2024 in Laos, along with four other tourists staying in a hostel in the tourist resort of Vang Vieng.

The Australian teens’ families have accused the Laotian government of “corruption” and refusing to investigate the deaths, as they urged fellow Aussies not to travel to Laos.

“We recognize how corrupt and unhelpful the Laos Government [is], there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest there is any type of investigation going on,” parents Shaun Bowles and Samantha Morton told Australian newspaper the Herald Sun.

“[Our] hope is that Australians remove this country from their bucket list, your life is worth nothing over there and we have seen this first-hand as well as other families that have been involved in this tragedy,” they added.

In February, it was revealed that the Laotian government had refused to meet with any of the families of the victims from last year’s poisoning attack.

The interview with the grieving parents, ahead of the one-year anniversary of their deaths, followings news that an American school director and his son had been killed in Laos after being stung by Asian giant hornets.

Daniel Owen, 47, headmaster at a prestigious international private school in Vietnam, and his son Cooper, 15, were each stung more than 100 times by the deadly insects as they were zip-lining at an eco-adventure resort near Luang Prabang on the Mekong River on Oct. 15, local authorities said.

The Idaho-born Owen and his son were attacked by a swarm of hornets — each of which can grow up to two inches long — while they struggled to descend a tree with their guide, the Times of London reported, citing local health officials.

“Their whole bodies were covered in red spots. It was very, very painful. A lot of stings, more than 100, over the whole body,” said Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at the Phakan Arocavet Clinic.

“I thought already that it’s a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it as bad as that. I have never seen a death and I have been working more than 20 years,” he added.

Laos is currently a Level 2 on the State Department’s travel advisory warning scale, meaning “Exercise Increased Caution.”

The State Department has warned of civil unrest in parts of the country, as well as the risk of unexploded bombs close to the Vietnam border, a legacy of US bombing during the 1960s and 70s.

US government employees must obtain special authorization to travel to the central region of Xiasomboun Province, and US visitors are urged not to visit due to a “continued threat of violence.”

A heightened risk of bandits and drug traffickers exists in the north of the country, close to the Myanmar border, as well as armed groups fighting for the overthrow of the Myanmar government from exile, according to the State Department.

The Laotian Ambassador to the United States, Phoukhong Sisoulath, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.