Follow the Mekong and feel good about it

From hand-woven silk in Laos to a heritage hotel in Cambodia, responsible tourism operators in the Mekong region will be easier to find with the launch of a new online guide.

From hand-woven silk in Laos to a heritage hotel in Cambodia, responsible tourism operators in the Mekong region will be easier to find with the launch of a new online guide.

Spanning Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China, the project is funded entirely by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs based in Thailand and Cambodia.
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The e-guide's 193 listings so far include operators working at a national or regional level, boutique hotels and home stays, hotels, museums, fair-trade shops, handicraft workshops and restaurants.

On the list are Luang Prabang's homeware's shop Ma Te Sai (meaning "where is it from?") and Phnom Penh's The Pavilion, a 20-room boutique hotel of Khmer-French colonial architecture 100 metres from the Royal Palace.

A spokeswoman for Mekong Responsible Tourism, Christine Jacquemin, says the guide aims to shine a light on small and medium-sized tourism enterprises, many of which don't have the financial or human resources to market themselves on the world stage.

She says there are two target markets: independent travellers who want their journeys to be a learning experience and overseas operators looking to add reliable local businesses to their itineraries.

Applicants were scored and included based on how they contributed to social, cultural and environmental sustainability. A French-language version of the guide is under way.

Source - smh.com.au