Australia has raised its official travel advice for Laos after the country’s government laid criminal charges over a mass methanol poisoning that killed six foreign tourists in 2024, including two Australian teenagers, The Diplomat reported on July 20.
The Smartraveller notification for Laos, published by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was updated on July 17 to classify the country as a level two risk, urging travellers to exercise a high degree of caution. “We’ve reviewed our advice for Laos and have raised the overall travel advice level,” the notification said, according to The Diplomat.
“We now advise exercise a high degree of caution due to crime, the risk of methanol poisoning, and ongoing concerns around lack of transparency in the justice system,” the advisory added.
The update follows Laos authorities announcing criminal charges against a distillery owner in connection with the 2024 tragedy at Vang Vieng, a popular backpacker destination in central Laos, where six people died and several others were hospitalised after consuming contaminated alcohol, Travel And Tour World reported. The relatively limited scope of the charges has prompted renewed debate over accountability and the standard of the ongoing investigation.
Other governments have also sharpened their guidance. The United Kingdom’s updated Travel Aware campaign now highlights methanol poisoning risks in 29 destinations, including Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam, encouraging travellers to know the symptoms of methanol poisoning and seek urgent medical care if they appear.
The revised advisories do not call for travellers to avoid Laos altogether, but recommend avoiding home-distilled or unlabelled spirits, exercising caution around unusually cheap drink offers, and choosing sealed, branded beverages where possible. Governments have also noted that symptoms of methanol poisoning, including severe headache, dizziness and sudden vision problems, can take hours to appear after drinking.