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Tam Tours Southern Lao Adventures
Green Season brings waterfalls to life in Southern Laos. This year, the rains began in March, gorging rivers and turning trickling falls into pluming, ground-shaking wonders. Among these are Tad Lo in a tourist enclave just 2.5 hours on paved roads from Pakse. “Tad Lo Waterfall, in the heart of Salavan Province, offers some spectacular scenery and white water running over the falls, rain or shine people come to visit the falls,” said Tam, founder of Tam Tour Laos. Based in Pakse, Tam Tours has launched Green Season adventure tours to Tad Lo and beyond, that follow bike routes and hiking trails, with visits to coffee plantations, ethnic villages and National Protected Areas. To find out more, visit Tam Tours Facebook page. Email: tum_toe@hotmail.com
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Trash Idol Luang Prabang
“Trash Idol hopes to make Luang Prabang a clean and green place for all of us,” said co-founder Somsack Sengta, owner of the UNESCO city’s Blue Lagoon Restaurant. A group of volunteers, supported by Urban Development and Administration Authority, established Trash Idol in 2014, to organize activities on waste management and other environmental issues. “We arrange monthly clean-up days in Luang Prabang, and we help clean up the city after special events such as the Lao New Year, Boat Racing Festival, and Earth Day, as well as train volunteers,” Mr Somsak noted. He said Luang Prabang is aware of its waste management issues, and stressed that the city wants to join the global community in pushing the environment as a top priority. “The people of Luang Prabang are also concerned about the environment, and we would like to address environmental issues and make a difference for our next generations,” Mr Somsak explained. “We are looking to raise awareness of environmental issues, and educate our young and local citizens in order to change their behaviours.” Joining Mr Somsak as co-founders of Trash Idol Luang Prabang are Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel’s Alichith Phengsavanh, Gender Base Violence Project Director Chansamai Rattanasouvannaphon, and Luang Prabang Tennis Club Founder Anousith Phonesavath. “We are a team of volunteers working to ensure that Trash Idol Luang Prabang runs smoothly and the fund is used appropriately,” Mr Somsak said.
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Authorities announce extra activities in Visit Laos Year 2018 campaign
Authorities announced new activities to be organised under Visit Laos Year 2018 for the last six months of this year at a meeting for consultations and planning for the tourism sector that was held in the capital on Friday. The Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Ounthuang Khaophanh, told the meeting that the authorities will hold colorful activities in Laos and abroad to promote tourism. To reach the target of attracting about five million visitors during Visit Laos Year 2018, the country plans to organise several activities abroad, including attending the International Travel Expo 2018 at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) meet in Tokyo. Both events will be held in September. In October, Laos will attend the ITB Asia in Singapore and an Asean-China tourism meeting in China. Laos will also attend the Cambodia Travel Mart (CTM) in Cambodia and the China International Travel Mart (CITM) in China in November, Mr Ounthuang said. Authorities will also organise several activities in the country to promote tourism, such as a caravan event in the central, northern and southern provinces. They will continue to promote other activities in the provinces which have still not formally launched the Visit Laos Year campaign, such as Phongsaly, Attapeu, Savannakhet and Xaysomboun, he added. Authorities will organise visits to tourist sites in the central and southern parts of Laos for domestic and foreign tourism companies, and they will continue to cooperate with all sectors to promote tourism. He also reported the results of Visit Laos Year during the first six months of this year – 13 provinces have launched celebrated the campaign, the authorities organised interesting activities and local festival to promote tourism, and four provinces will soon launch the campaign. Laos promoted tourism at several foreign meets, including the Asean tourism fair in Thailand, ITB Berlin in Germany and Salon Mondial du Tourisme in Paris, France. The authorities also held Lao festivals in Tokyo to promote culture and tourism. The Lao tourism sector was also promoted via apps, magazines and other media in the country and abroad, and more than 500 billboards were installed and materials were produced to promote tourism and tourist sites. In addition, more than 330 employees in the provinces were trained to upgrade their skills in service quality, cleanliness and safety of foods, Mr Ounthuang added. During the first six months of the Visit Laos Year campaign, the country attracted more than two million visitors, an increase of six percent over the same period last year. Source: Vientiane Times
