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Inthira Group Signs Sustainable Tourism Deal with Lao Development Bank
The Inthira Group signed an agreement with the Lao Development Bank (LDB) on 18 October, to provide financing to the 20-year-old tourism and hospitality company for developing sustainable tourism products. According to Inthira Founder and CEO Inthy Deuansavanh, “This is a strategic partnership agreement in which the LDB will provide easy access to financial support to Inthira for developing sustainable tourism products in Laos.” The Vientiane Times reported the initial funding will be used to build visitor facilities at a protected forest in Vientiane Province as well as at the Rock Viewpoint at Phouphaman Mountain, which offers accommodation, dining, and a mountaintop zip-lining experience on the popular Khammouane Loop. Though Mr Deuansavanh could not provide details of these projects, he noted, “The LDB will support long-term loans for any of our tourism development projects.” He added that he hopes this initiative between Inthira and the LDB will spark “other banks and the government to start thinking about how to support all Lao tourism enterprises, not only in speeches at a meeting halls, but with action. If we show that it works, more funding might become available to distribute benefits to the entire industry.” Mr Deuansavanh stressed, “Travel businesses in Laos face challenges in accessing loans, so this support will show that helping tourism businesses develop has potential in Laos.” He also pointed out that Chanlern Xekong Power LTD has purchased 70% of the shares in LDB.
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Born to be Wild: ECC Laos Welcomes Baby Elephant
The Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) in Sayabouly, Laos has announced that Mae Khoun Noy gave birth to a calf in the ECC’s home at the Nam Tien forest on 4 October. ECC is also seeking support for the new addition, a gift of hope and a proof of perseverance and hard work for the conservation of this highly endangered species. Click Photo for Video The mother Mae Khoun Noy, a 49-year-old cow, was rescued in 2018, when traffickers tried to smuggle her, along with 12 other elephants, to Dubai Safari Park. The government sought assistance from the ECC, Laos’ only sanctuary that offers an undisturbed natural environment with professional staff, and world-class facilities to protect and breed Asian elephants. According to the ECC staff, each birth is an emotional celebration of 20 years of teamwork that has blended science, research, compassion, and struggle to create a ‘formula’ for success for the rescue, rehabilitation, and re-wilding of Laos’ captive elephants. This is the second birth at ECC over the past year, but the new additions come at a cost, and Covid-19 has crippled the center’s revenue stream, which counted on tourism. This has prompted them to turn to crowd sourcing. To find out how you can help and learn more about the births, visit the Baby Elephant Laos GoFundMe page. Visit ECC’s website. To view a video of Mae Khoun Noy and her calf, click here.
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Covid Challenges Laos Coffee Culture and Tourism
Luang Prabang-based Saffron Coffee has long been known as a profit-for-purpose enterprise supporting more than 85 villages and some 485 coffee growing families in northern Laos. Tourism and its café have also entered its brew over the years with programs such as Exclusive Guided Tasting, Cherry to Cup tour, and From Mountain to Cup initiative. Like many in the country’s tourism and hospitality industry and its supply chain, Saffron has suffered under Covid. WeAreLao’s John Morris Williams recently interviewed Saffron Director Todd Moore to uncover the impact of the pandemic on the business. WAL: How has Covid 19 for the past 20 months impacted Saffron Coffee? Moore: I will answer regarding both the cafe and the company. Over the past 20 months we have seen our domestic income drop by about 70-75%. During that time we have had to shift to the international market to a far greater extent. Our exports have increased in volume by four times the amount we were shipping pre-Covid. The difference in income between domestic sales and export sales is quite significant, with domestic sales being the much more preferable and profitable route. Even with the increase in international sales, there have been hiccups because of new challenges in international shipping that were not present before Covid entered the scene. Another huge impact that has been felt is the inability to reach farmers in their villages. The lockdowns have hindered this aspect of our business quite a bit. The work that is done in village visits would concern coffee plot inspections to ensure organic standards are maintained as well as the extension of agricultural methods that can be applied to help increase crop yield and quality. Thankfully lockdowns have not yet occurred during the harvest season, and we have been able to reach villages in order to purchase their coffee harvest. This is a real concern for the coming months as harvest season will quickly be upon us. WAL: How many staff have you retained since the lockdown? Moore: At our cafes, we have retained 13 employees and had to lay off 11 employees. At the company we retained 12 employees and lost five. WAL: Are you still operating with the local farmers in the provinces? Moore: We are still operating with local farmers although this has been affected considerably by hard lockdowns and confusion as to what is allowed by the government in various situations. This is one of the most important aspects of our work here so this has put a big strain on our opportunities to get out and spend time with farmers and help with issues that may arise. WAL: How hard has this been for Saffron and the farmers to date, both financially and production wise? Moore: The Lockdown has had a huge impact on Saffron financially. Our income is now drastically reduced. The income and profit that we had been receiving allowed Saffron to have a larger impact in the farming communities. With the reduction of income and lock downs with no income at all, our ability to invest in farming communities has been vastly crippled. In moving forward, we will need to consider the machinery and inputs to the company that will allow us to maintain capacity to process increasing amounts of coffee. In the past we always relied on our profits for this. This is no longer a possibility. We continue to look to what we can change and (how we can) adapt in order to move forward and be successful in this Covid climate. Regarding production, the major issue is staff being allowed to come to work or not during lockdowns. Losing multiple months of production because of lockdowns creates multiple issues that delay the production of coffee to be completed in a timely manner. WAL: What would you like the Ministry of Tourism to do in the next few months and into 2022 to help promote Lao PDR? This is an incredibly difficult question, and I might be wary of answering it. Communication from the government that is clear and easily understandable would be a good start. It seems that no one knows what is going on. Vaccine stations are set up and instructions are given, and then once you get to the station you find that the information given was not correct or has changed from day to day. If there is not a sense of some kind of stability and order, it makes it very difficult to move forward. Another incredibly helpful area would be is in the sector of shipping. Shipping from other countries has become next to impossible. We find ways to do it, but none of them have been made easily accessible from action by the government. They have been made accessible by private companies, for which we are incredibly thankful. I would imagine that the mentioned items do not lie within the realm of the Ministry of Tourism. I will leave it at that. Saffron Coffee: www.saffroncoffee.com
