blog

MTF Insights: Georgie Walsh @ Laos Hospitality Consulting & Manda de Laos Georgie is the director of sales and marketing of Laos Hospitality Consulting and Manda de Laos, which is hosting the Marketing and Sales session. This is Georgie’s second MTF, having attended the 2010 event in Pakse. She first heard about the event from … Read more

MTF Insights: Tara Gujadhur @ TAEC Tara is the co-director of the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC), which is hosting the MTF’s “Intangible Tourism” session. She attended the 2012 MTF in Pakse, Laos, and heard about the Luang Prabang event from the ADB’s Steven Schipani. Having worked in tourism with development agencies for several years, she … Read more

MTF Insights: Dr Andreas Hofmann @ GIZ Andreas had a long history in private sector travel before taking the position of Team Leader, Luang Prabang Handle with Care Project for German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). He has never attended an MTF, and first heard about the Luang Prabang event from the organisers and Lao … Read more

MTF Insights: John Morris Williams @ Luang Prabang View Hotel John in the General Manager of Luang Prabang View hotel, which is hosting the MIST (Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism) finalists’ presentations. This will be John’s first Mekong Tourism Forum (MTF). He read about the Luang Prabang event in social media and the “Vientiane Times”, … Read more

MTF Insights: Jacques Mury @ Villa Santi and Santi Resort & Spa Jacques is the general manager of the Villa Santi and Santi Resort & Spa, which is the host of the MTF Food Fair. This is Jacques’ first MTF, and he first found out about the Luang Prabang event late last year. What challenges … Read more

  By Bernie Rosenbloom I stood in a junkyard of rusty, defused bombs dropped from the sky decades before. It occupied a corner of the Xieng Khouang Visitor Information Center parking lot.   I had researched the province and its fields still littered with volatile bombies leftover from the Indochina War. Tino, my guide, knew … Read more

A 7:30 a.m. call from tourism guru, Peter Semone: “I want to cruise the Mekong from the Chinese border to Vientiane. Can you arrange it?” “Sure,” I had no idea. “What’s this about?” He needed to survey the waterway for the “Mekong River-based Tourism Product Development Strategy.” a UN report identifying ports and landings with … Read more

13 December 2016 Luang Prabang Pigs Out By Bernie Rosenbloom Luang Prabang’s hotels and restaurants hold “The Battle of the Pigs” to raise funds for families making their livings at the dump.   Troy Matusow frequently visits the Luang Prabang dump. The man behind Asia One Resort Supply knows the people who live amid piles … Read more

15 March 2016 Lord Puttnam Tackles Lao Tourism Challenges By Bernie Rosenbloom Oscar-winning producer Lord Puttnam was recently walking along Luang Prabang’s streets. He notices a fine-looking four-storey hotel topped with a terrace. He hikes up the stairs and takes in the view. He then asks the staff if he can order a drink. The … Read more

28 April 2017 Luang Prabang Cleans Up Its Act By Bernie Rosenbloom Tourists expect to walk into a sepia-toned 19th-century postcard when visiting Luang Prabang. Sitting on the Mekong banks and sipping cocktails as a breeze flutters tree leaves. Ancient golden-topped temples peeking above French colonial buildings. Empty plastic bottles, discarded cardboard boxes, chunks of … Read more