Be a positive agent of change

xinyi1Be a positive agent of change
It is with anticipation that I read that the Asia-Pacific Network on Accessible Tourism is setting up country chapters to champion barrier-free travel for people with disabilities in the region (see page 7) – a movement that South-east Asia strongly needs.

Bangkok, where I now call home, may be a fascinating city that beckons repeat visitors year after year, but its non-integrated public transport systems and cracked pavements often leave me wondering how a family with young children and strollers in tow or a physically challenged traveller could properly navigate the capital. Such experiences are repeated across many Asian cities, unfortunately, and if travellers leave with a bad taste in the mouth, will they even want to visit the destination again?

But far from suffering from a broken tourism scene, South-east Asia is also fast becoming a fertile ground for novel and meaningful travel ideas. I can’t help but be inspired by a growing class of influencers and entrepreneurs shaping the region’s travel landscape.

Driven by a desire for a world with equal socio-economic opportunities, engineer turned social entrepreneur Somsak Boonkam founded LocalAlike (see page 9) to promote community-based tourism in Thailand. What impressed me was Somak’s rural background, which was not a deterrent but an impetus for him to empathise with disadvantaged groups and set up a platform for community-based tour operators to connect with world travellers and improve their livelihoods.

Somsak’s vision is laudable, and I sincerely hope that this start-up will retain its sustainable principles and make good progress in the days ahead to inspire more like-minded Asians to come forth and set up meaningful tourism entreprises too.

I strongly believe that tourism need not be a detrimental force, and everyone, whether a travel consumer or seller, can play a part to make travel more inclusive and make the world into a better place, one trip at a time. For travel sellers, obtainable ways would be engaging the services of responsible ground operators, may it be recommending restaurants that have implemented no shark’s fins policies or hotels that have pledged their stand as an ethical operator to oppose sexual exploitation of children in tourism. Lately, there has been a noticeable shift away from elephant rides in the industry, with Bangkok-based Asian Oasis being the latest tour operator to drop elephant rides from its tours to end animal cruelty in tourism.

There is no lack of positive initiatives in this part of the world; what we need is the support of trade members to share these meaningful tourism products with a greater audience.

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