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An Ethnic Food Journey to Toilets
What started as a Mark Wiens’ Travel for Food vlog, ended up as toilets in a remote Khmu village in Luang Prabang. Earlier this year, Mark Wiens, with 1.9 million YouTube subscribers, approached White Elephant Adventures (WEA) to enquire about embarking on a tribal food-based trip for his vlog. “Of course we could,” said WEA Director Alex Robb-Millar. “So my idea was to cover both Khmu and Hmong tribes and turn it into an overnight trip. This also gave me the opportunity to better know the villagers and look for new tour ideas that could benefit the local communities there.” Off they went on a two-day ethnic culinary journey, which Mark duly filmed. Before heading back to Luang Prabang, the group stopped at Ban Hat Hid to re-supply the village school. This is just one of 24 schools WEA supports, all of which are stops on their tours. “As we were leaving, the village chief called me over to ask if it was possible to help with building a toilet, as the village didn’t have one, and the locals were simply using the jungle,” Alex said. He noted that unsanitary conditions impact children’s health, and a side-effect of this hinders education. The chief and Alex roughly calculated the costs, and he returned to Mark, who was waiting in the van. “I explained the reason for my short delay to Mark, who instantly stated he would be more than happy to fund half of the project”, Alex recalled. They agreed on the spot to go move forward, and within one week the villagers had already started digging and preparing the ground. The double toilet, with an extra-large septic tank, was installed within a month, with finishing work completed before the end of May. “While not enough for the entire village, it’s a good first step,” Alex pointed out. He concluded, “As WEA expands, and more schools/volunteer groups come on board, the more we will be able to do. WEA is only a small Luang Prabang company, but we do what we can, and by working with others, the benefit multiplies…Big thanks to our guests for choosing WEA, Mark Wiens for the generous support, and the villagers for their community spirit.” White Elephant Adventures Mark Wiens’ Vlogs in Laos Khmu food Hmong food
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Tourism to boost growth in Lao PDR
by Eijas Ariffin According to World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2017, the total contribution from travel and tourism to Lao PDR’s gross domestic product (GDP) was around US$2 billion, which accounted for 13.7 percent of total GDP. This figure is expected to rise up to US$3.3 billion by 2028. The growth of the tourism sector will also create additional jobs for the people of Lao PDR and further improve its services sector. According to the United Nation’s World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism has directly resulted in 114,000 jobs being created in Lao PDR. As a whole, tourism and its related services have contributed over 385,000 jobs in the country. With Lao PDR’s workforce being largely unskilled, the expansion of the country’s tourism sector is key as it allows workers to develop skills and move up the economic ladder. A thriving tourism industry could also improve per-capita income of the country. Lao PDR currently has one of the lowest per-capita incomes but the influx of foreign tourists exchanging their stronger currencies with Laotian Kip could cause a knock-on effect on workers’ wages. To help develop the sector, Lao PDR collaborated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2015 to launch a Tourism Infrastructure Project. The ADB provided the country with a US$40 million project loan to help it build tourism infrastructure. Role of China While Lao PDR welcomes all tourists, it is upgrading its tourism sector with one target audience in mind, China. A local media report from last month said that the Lao PDR government is enhancing certain tourism services to attract more tourists from China in particular. Last year, tourist arrivals in Lao PDR dropped to 3.86 million from 4.23 million. Despite the drop, the number of Chinese visitors to Lao PDR in 2017 increased by 17 percent. The government there wants the numbers to continue rising. Among the reasons for the government going above and beyond to cater to Chinese tourists could be due to the reputation of Chinese tourists being big spenders abroad. Last year alone, Chinese tourists spent an estimated US$115 billion overseas. Aside from the government’s efforts to woo Chinese tourists, the numbers look likely to increase anyway. Lao PDR has also become a big part player in China’s Belt and Road initiative with its inclusion in the Kunming-Singapore railway. The railway, also dubbed the Pan-Asia railway connects China with Southeast Asia and Lao PDR is among the stops. It’s inclusion in the railway system will most definitely boost tourist numbers. Furthermore, China has become the largest foreign business operator of hotels, entertainment venues and restaurants in Lao PDR. If Lao PDR successfully improves its tourism sector it would be seen as a boon to the economy and to its people. However, it needs to be careful to not fall into the trap of “overdevelopment” where it could so easily become a typical commercial tourist destination, losing its original charm and uniqueness along the way. Source: The ASEAN Post
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Gov’t Continues Search for Lao Airlines Partner
By Souksakhone Vaenkeo The government is still seeking a qualified partner to jointly operate Lao Airlines in a bid to achieve more efficient and profitable operation of the national flag carrier, according to a Vientiane Times report. Several potential foreign investors have expressed interest in forming a joint venture with the Lao government, a source at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said. The interested parties are based in China, the Republic of Korea and Thailand. A decision has not yet been made on the selection of a partner, the source told Vientiane Times. The government cabinet heard a report at its monthly meeting for May last week about current developments in the matter, from a committee in charge of improving Lao Airlines. “We have held talks with the interested parties but a decision concerning a selection has not been reached,” the source said. The door is still open to interested investors as the government is looking for the most qualified partner. The party selected will be one that can demonstrate efficient operation of an airline and has a strong financial record. “The cabinet has suggested that the search for the most qualified partner should continue,” the source said, referring to the suggestion made at last week’s meeting. It is still unclear what size stake in Lao Airlines the government would sell to a foreign partner, the source said, adding that this was negotiable. Government spokesman Prof. Dr Chaleun Yiapaoher said foreign airlines with the appropriate credentials were welcome to form a joint venture with Lao Airlines. Established in 1976, Lao Airlines has four Airbus 320s and seven ATR aircraft, according to a report from the airline in June last year. The airline flies to Cambodia, China, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Domestically, Lao Airlines operates flights to the provinces of Luang Namtha, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang, Savannakhet and Champassak. In recent years the number of people using Lao Airlines has surged. In 2010, about 412,000 people travelled on Lao Airlines and the figure climbed to over 531,000 in 2011, while in 2012 the number of passengers rose to more than 658,000. In 2015, more than 828,000 passengers flew with Lao Airlines including more than 504,000 foreign customers. The number rose to 924,924 people in 2016, of whom 543,422 were foreign nationals.
