The deaths of six foreign tourists linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning has thrown a spotlight on a small town in Southeast Asia that has worked hard in recent years to shed its reputation for excess.

Holly Bowles, 19, is one of six tourists who have died in Laos from what is believed to be methanol poisoning. She passed away on Friday, the day after her 19-year-old friend Bianca Jones passed away in a Thai hospital.

The Laos government said on Saturday (Nov 23) that it was "profoundly saddened" by the deaths of foreign tourists in Vang Vieng, with the toll from a suspected methanol poisoning incident now at six.