Talk Travel Asia is a travel blog sharing travel advises and the work of many regional contacts with travel enthusiasts. The blog is managed by Trevor Ranges and Scott Coates – both passionate about travel and with love for Asia. The blog posts are presented in form of episodes – conversations between Trevor, Scott and a regional guest.

In the episode 34, Talk Travel Asia guest is Paul Eshoo – the ecotourism coordinator of the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area.

Listen to the episode and learn about Laos and Paul’s experience in ecotourism development in Asia. He has been developing community-based ecotourism with various agencies including UNESCO, WWF, WCS, the EU GTZ, the Asian Development Bank and SNV.

Paul will answer questions as below:

Q: Where are you originally from and why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and start a life in Asia?

Q: What led you to originally become interested in wildlife and ecotourism?

Q: Why did you decide to move to Laos?

Q: Give us a bit of an overview of the ecotourism scene in Laos.

Q: You’re currently involved at the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area in Houaphan Province, which is, as I understand, one of the premier tiger eco-systems in Indochina. Tell us a bit about your work there.

Q: The Nam Nern Night Safari eco-tour there has won the prestigious ‘World Responsible Tourism Award’ at the World Travel Mart in London, England, in 2013 and 2014. How important is it to win such awards to raise awareness and move things forward?

Q: What can tourists expect from a visit?

Q: You’ve also been involved at the Standing Stones in the Xe Pian National Protected Area. This is near Wat Phou correct? Tell us about that area.

Q: Don Daeng is a nearby area to Wat Phou – tell us what’s going on there for travelers?

Q: Anything else people should know about ecotourism in Laos?

Listen to the discussion:

Find more episodes on the Talk Travel Asia website!