STRATEGI LAOS DALAM MENINGKATKAN SEKTOR PARIWISATA MELALUI NATION BRANDING “LAOS SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL” TAHUN 2012-2019

Laos has implemented the nation branding Laos Simply Beautiful since 2012 on its tourism sector. Laos as a less developed country in Southeast Asia has made improvements in the tourism sector through the nation branding during 2012 – 2019. To find out Laos' tourism governance that is able to improve its tourism sector, the concept of the nation branding hexagon from Simon Anholt is used which describes the strategy of Laos nation branding from the six aspects of the nation branding hexagon to improve its tourism sector. The six aspects include tourism, society, culture & cultural heritage, investment & immigration, government, and exports. This study uses a descriptive method with data deduction analysis techniques, and uses a literature review data collection technique with the type of data in the form of secondary data such as books, mass media, articles, internet, and other sources related to the research topic. The results of this study indicate that the Laos strategy has been able to increase the tourism sector along with the implementation of the Laos Simply Beautiful Nation Branding. The policies implemented by Laos in the six aspects of the nation branding hexagon have been implemented and have made an increase ranging from the number of tourist visits, tourism foreign exchange, to the value of global tourism competitiveness which has experienced a dynamic increase in the process during 2012 - 2019.