For many people, travel is something they look forward to all year. It occupies daydreams, shapes savings plans and hopefully exceeds expectations when in the destination. But with a globally growing middle class, visa requirements easing-up and 
the cost of air travel dropping, more people than ever are hitting the road. And often, too many of us at the same time in the same place. This can not only lead to trips sometimes not living up to expectations, but the destinations themselves and people that live there becoming forever changed, often not for the better. On this episode we’ll explore the issue of Overtourism and talk with an expert about the future of travel.
Travel, as we say in our intro, is one of life’s great pleasures. But with visiting other countries comes waste we generate and impact as guests. As more and more people have the means to travel, the stress on communities and countries is growing. If destinations are to remain pristine, beautiful and worth visiting, travelers and those working in tourism are going to have to make some adjustments to preserve the places we love. On this episode we’ll chat about practical travel issues and ways you as a traveler can reduce your footprint and impact.
Cameron hard at work; courtesy Matthew Dakin
First off, this is not a podcast about attractions and activities your dog or cat could enjoy while he or she is on holiday in Asia. While that would be fun, this is about how you can experience animals as a tourist in Asia. Some are good, some are bad, but all can be contentious as animal rights are something we care passionately about but are not always taken as seriously in Asia as they are in certain countries with more strict enforcement.
Happy New Year – it’s 2017 and our gift to you is a celebratory episode of Talk Travel Asia. Today we’ll revel in our very favorite things about Asia in a multitude of categories from how to get around to where to imbibe and a whole lot in between. We take on a variety of categories from best transport, to airports, best movies theaters and a whole lot in between. This is our Best of Asia from more than 33 collective years living and traveling in the region. Ring in the New Year by celebrating travel and get planning your trip to Asia for 2017!
It’s been more than two years since our first episode went live on June 11, 2014 and we’re suddenly at our 50th episode of Talk Travel Asia podcast! It’s been a ton of fun thinking of topics to cover and share, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride as much as we have. To mark our 50th episode, we’re going to share 50 Things We Love About Traveling in Asia. The categories will be broad, responses at times surprising, and we guarantee there are a few things in here you’ll want to try. Thanks for listening and celebrating 50 episodes with us!
Episode 43: Adventure Travel in Asia with John Roberts, Mei Zhang, and Willem Niemeijer
- April 15, 2016
- Tagged as: Anantara, Anantara Resorts and Spas Worldwide, Asia Podcast, best travel in se asia, Episode 43, John Roberts, Khiri Travel, Mei Zhang, PATA, PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference 2016, Scott Coates, se asia travel advice, Talk Travel Asia, Travel Asia, Travel Podcast, travel se asia, Trevor Ranges, WildChina, Willem Niemeijer
Episode 26: Responsible Tourism with Bodhi Garrett
- June 15, 2015
- Tagged as: andaman discoveries, Asia Podcast, Baan Talay Nok, Bodhi Garrett, Mokken Experience, responsible tourism, Responsible Tourism Thailand, Responsible Travel, Responsible Travel Thailand, Scott Coates, Talk Travel Asia, Thailand Podcast, Travel Podcast, Trevor Ranges, WeHelpNepal
To kick off this week’s episode of Talk Travel Asia podcast, Trevor talks about a time in the recent past when ‘ecotourism’ was the big travel buzzword. Though no one really knew exactly what it meant, it was thought to represent travel that was ‘green’ or perhaps sustainable; that is to say, low impact on the environment, perhaps. Eventually, the label seemed to become used to describe anything that occurred outdoors.
Both Trevor and Scott have had the pleasure of experiencing the mahout (elephant) program at the Anantara Golden Triangle in the far northern regions of Thailand along the Mekong River and welcome John Roberts to talk about an issue that is at the heart of many tourist experiences in Asia: elephants.