By Ia Kverghelidze

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When gazed upon from afar, the sharp-peaked mountains of the country of Georgia are soaring and grand. Unseen within their rocky confines, however, lie isolated and amazing sights inaccessible to most outsiders. Located at the Western Asian / Eastern European frontier and bordered by the Black Sea, Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, little-known Georgia is the site of the truly off-the-beaten-path mountainous regions of Svaneti and Tusheti, two raw, entrancing and rough-and-tumble provinces of well-established age-old traditions that give real meaning to hospitality.

This is a two-part article. Part one presented the unique qualities of Svaneti, while part two, below, details the wonders of Tusheti.

In the traditional Tushetian game of 'Distance Jumping', people jump over a felt cloak. Jump the farthest and the cloak is your prize.

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Posted under General, Georgia, countries, local tips

By Maureen Valentine

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The city of Cusco, Peru – gateway to the world-renowned ruins of Machu Picchu – is said to be the oldest still-inhabited city in South America, as it was the capital of the ancient Inca Empire many moons ago.

A group of residents from the Cusco region gather to learn more about the installation of the cleaner burning stoves in their homes. An overwhelming majority of the population immediately recognise the benefits and sign on with the project.

In fact its very long history and rich culture are windows into Andean mores, Peruvians still proudly adorning themselves with the colourful wraps and bowler hats of years passed and giving any outsider an exciting sense of cultural immersion into something quite different from the norm.

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Posted under General, Peru, responsible organisations, whl.travel newsletter

By Sophia Sleap

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Popular tourist trekking destinations such as Sapa in Vietnam and Chiang Mai in Thailand see hundreds of backpackers and holidaymakers trample their way through the surrounding hill-tribe villages every week. Many of these tours offer ‘homestays’, where you spend a night or two in the home of a local family.

The author taking a break on a bike ride in the Lao hills outside Luang Prabang, Laos

Although these trips offer valuable insight into how the local people live and the booking agents do usually pay the host families a fair wage, the experience can be spoiled somewhat by the hordes of other tourists making their way along the same route. Fortunately, there are alternatives: travellers seeking a more authentic experience of glorious Southeast Asian countryside are increasingly looking to less commercial destinations, such as Laos, to satisfy their curiosity.
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Posted under General, Laos, countries, local tips, responsible traveller, whl.travel newsletter

SILAKAN LIHAT DI BAWAH INI UNTUK ARTIKEL INI DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA / SEE BELOW FOR THIS MESSAGE IN INDONESIAN

The National Monument (Monas) of Jakarta, located in the centre of the city, was built to commemorate the Indonesian people's struggle for independence, achieved in 1945. The Monas is capped by a carving in the shape of a flame and covered by 24-carat gold.

Located on the northern coast of Java, Jakarta is the bustling capital of the Republic of Indonesia. As the most populous city in Southeast Asia – and the 12th largest in the world – Jakarta has become a major regional centre drawing in travellers from all over the globe keen to experience its distinctive vibrancy.

As the centre of government, industry and commerce in Indonesia, Jakarta is abuzz with history, culture, music and passion. After all, Jakarta’s roots reach back to the times of the Betawi, a unique blend of Chinese, Portuguese, Arab, Indian and European cultures that came about as a result of 17th-century colonial activity. The particularly strong Dutch influence is evident in the name, for example, as Betawi stems from Batavia, the old Dutch name for Jakarta.

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Posted under General, Indonesia, countries, new local connections, whl.travel news

By Sara Pavlatos

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Rhodes is one of the larger islands of Greece and certainly one of the most frequented, especially with many return travellers inspired by the diversity of sights and activities.

A sunset view from Monte Smith - the most beautiful place to relax on Rhodes

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Posted under General, Greece, countries, local tips, whl.travel newsletter

VOIR CI-DESSOUS POUR CE MESSAGE EN FRANÇAIS / SEE BELOW FOR THIS MESSAGE IN FRENCH

Travellers to Hammamet are routinely amazed by the sheer beauty of the ‘Tunisian Saint Tropez’. Frequented even during ancient Roman times because of its healing mineral baths and known today for its historic medina and beautiful beaches, Hammamet practically oozes tradition.

Houses in the Medina look out over the tranquil, azure waters of the Gulf of Hammamet

Located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea at the start of trade trails leading deep into the Sahara Desert, Hammamet’s Medina, or Old City, is surrounded by a series of early 16th-century fortifications. Setting foot within is like stepping back in time as you wander past donkeys and street vendors in the city’s narrow lanes or take in the largest Roman necropolis in Africa at the ruins of Pupput.

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Posted under General, Tunisia, new local connections, whl.travel news

By Ethan Gelber

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A statue inside the grounds of Wat Impeng Temple, Vientiane, Laos (courtesy of Tari Bowling)

With a little luck, by early 2010, Lee Sheridan believes his company, Teamworkz Consulting, the whl.travel local partner in Laos, will have processed US$1 million worth of travel bookings through three Laos destination websites (Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane). Perhaps even more impressive than the gross numbers is the volume it represents: As of 10 October 2009, with completed bookings totalling almost US$800,000 and an average transaction valued at a few pennies more than US$115, that’s nearly 7000 bookings in just four years.

“Along with this, the three websites in Laos have already surpassed more than 100,000 unique visitors this year,” Sheridan enthused. “The Luang Prabang site alone has received over 60,000 unique visitors this year so far, and with our high season just starting, we may be able to reach 100,000 unique visitors for this one site in 2009.”

All in all, that’s not bad at all for a young company in an off-the-beaten-path nation notable for its least developed country status.
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Posted under General, Laos, Thailand, countries, responsible organisations, responsible travel, responsible travel news, whl.travel newsletter

By Ethan Gelber

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At the July 2009 whl.travel Asia-Pacific Regional conference, Teamworkz Consulting was officially recognised as the whl.travel Franchisee of the Year 2008-2009 for its work in Vientiane, Laos. Teamworkz, which also owns and operates five other sites in Laos and seven in Thailand, could just as easily have earned its laurels for its labours in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, both also in Laos.

Teamworkz Consulting accepting its accolades as Franchisee of the Year 2008-2009 at the whl.travel Asia Pacific regional conference. Left to right are: Rob Shortland, whl.travel Asia Pacific Regional Director; Anne Done, Lee Sheridan and Mouk of Teamworkz; Len Cordiner, CEO of WHL Group

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Posted under General, Laos, Thailand, Turkey, Vanuatu, awards, countries, responsible organisations, responsible travel news, whl.travel news, whl.travel newsletter

…we might also be able to find a causal link for the failure of the responsible tourism industry

By Len Cordiner

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On October 15th, 2008, I had the pleasure of attending the keynote address at the first National Geographic/Ashoka Geotourism Challenge awards in Washington DC given by Sven Lindblad, president and founder of Lindblad Expeditions.

He kicked off his talk by making reference to an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times of July 2nd 2006 entitled “If Only Gay Sex Caused Global Warming: Why we’re more scared of gay marriage and terrorism than a much deadlier threat”. The article was written by Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University and the author of Stumbling on Happiness. The room full of attendees – mostly industry practitioners in sustainable development, academics, NGOs etc. – all found this a very amusing way to start the talk, but Sven was using it to make some very important points about the whole sustainable tourism movement to the sustainability practitioners.

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Posted under General, opinion, responsible travel

SEE BELOW FOR THIS MESSAGE IN MALAY / UNTUK BAHASA MELAYU, SILA BACA DI BAWAH

Although known as the birthplace of Malaysia’s petroleum industry – and still reliant on oil as a leading source of income – the coastal town of Miri, in northern Sarawak on the island of Borneo, is today so much more than an oil and timber town and site of national monuments like the Grand Old Lady,  or Oil Well No. 1, drilled way back in 1910.

The Grand Old Lady - Malaysia's first oil well was erected in 1910 and is now a state monument

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Posted under Malaysia, countries, new local connections, whl.travel news