Ep 71: Community-based Tourism in Thailand, with Charlotte Louwman-Vogels

Listen to this episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google

Podbean

View All Episodes

About This Episode

22 May 2021 • 33m00s

This week, Gary and Hannah chat with Charlotte Louwman-Vogels, CEO of Fair Tourism, a non-profit foundation based in the Netherlands that does commendable community-based tourism (CBT) work in Thailand.

During this intriguing chat, Charlotte discusses how she assisted the Kayan tribe in Huay Pu Keng to transition from being a commercial show village into a self-sustaining tourism community managed by the locals themselves.

She discusses the role that tour operators and DMCs can play to support and promote sustainable tourism so that it empowers rather than exploits local communities, and how Fair Tourism is working with university students in destinations ranging from Australia to Kenya and Jordan.

Charlotte also addresses the emerging challenges for CBT during the pandemic and beyond, and the role young people can play in making transformational tourism more meaningful for hosts and visitors.

Show Notes

Fair Tourism website

Fair Tourism Facebook

Fair Tourism Instagram

Fair Tourism LinkedIn

Fair Tourism YouTube

Virtual tour of Huay Pu Keng HERE.

« Next Episode Ep 72: 6 Reasons Why Travel Remains on Hold in South East Asia Previous Episode » Ep 70: Selling a Passion for Vietnam, with Kerry Newsome

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play

3 Jul 2026 • 22m17s

Ep 310: Vietnam's Airlines Expand at Warp Speed, Bangkok Rides the Mega-Wellness Wave & Durian Tourism Ambassadors in Malaysia: June 2026 in Review

“They are not happy with just Vietnam, just Thailand - now they are going after Australia!” The scale of ambition and speed of commercial aggression shown by Vietnamese airlines is a stand-out feature of 2026, and there is no sign of a slowdown. On our monthly round-up of the top travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia and beyond in June, Gary and Hannah look at how airline strategies are shifting in ASEAN, Asia, Australia and the Middle East East - and the new threads tying them together.

Play

25 Jun 2026 • 22m48s

Ep 309: Vietnam's Great Airport Race, Cambodia Hedges its China Bets & Robotic Wellness Zen in Singapore

“Robotic lockers and ozone-based water filtration systems.” Gary and Hannah examine recent travel and tourism developments across ASEAN, featuring stops in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. Key topics include Brunei’s largest year-long tourism promotion planned for 2027 (previewed at Travel Meet Asia in Jakarta), mixed signals from airlines AirAsia and AirBornie regarding fares, Vietnam’s military involvement in ensuring Long Thanh International Airport opens before year’s end, Cambodia’s four-month visa-free policy for Chinese tourists, and Singapore’s new wellness megaproject that has begun construction.