Asia Unmasked

Asia Unmasked Travel and Tourism News and Developments in Sustainability from South East Asia

18/08/2026

Koh Phi Phi dazzles with beauty from above ❤️

17/08/2026

Floating above the mist on mountain peaks Wat Chalermprakiat in Lampang is like a dream - sacred surreal and unforgettable

Preah Poan, the Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas inside Angkor Wat, Cambodia 🇰🇭Once a Hindu site, it became a Buddhist sanc...
16/08/2026

Preah Poan, the Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas inside Angkor Wat, Cambodia 🇰🇭

Once a Hindu site, it became a Buddhist sanctuary where pilgrims left hundreds of statues over centuries. The remaining icons draped in saffron robes can still be viewed today.

Cambodia's cutting prices across Siem Reap to bring tourists back after a brutal year, and the tourism industry is split...
15/08/2026

Cambodia's cutting prices across Siem Reap to bring tourists back after a brutal year, and the tourism industry is split on whether that's the right call. We looked past the headline discount debate to what's actually happening to the vendors and guides living through it, and why the argument over quality versus quantity tourism looks different depending on whether you're the one waiting to be able to afford it. Are you a business affected by the downturn in tourism, and what do you think the authorities should do to help? Let us know in the comments...

Here's the full article: https://asiaunmasked.com/opinion/siem-reap-discount-debate/

Club Med has opened bookings for its first large-scale BREEAM-certified beach resort anywhere in Asia Pacific, tucked in...
14/08/2026

Club Med has opened bookings for its first large-scale BREEAM-certified beach resort anywhere in Asia Pacific, tucked into the Sabah coastline near Kota Kinabalu. Borneo remains one of the region's last genuine wildlife strongholds, and a resort arriving with sustainability credentials built in rather than added on as an after thought is worth watching. Have you visited Borneo and have something to share with us?

Full story on the site: https://asiaunmasked.com/newsletter/uw-21/

Laos has approved a ten-year plan to manage tourism growth on Don Det and Don Khon, the river islands travellers know as...
13/08/2026

Laos has approved a ten-year plan to manage tourism growth on Don Det and Don Khon, the river islands travellers know as the Four Thousand Islands, without losing what makes them worth visiting. The islands once ran boat trips to see the Mekong's Irrawaddy dolphins, a population sadly lost for good in 2022. This plan is as much about not repeating mistakes as it is about improving infrastructure. Do you think Laos can better manage tourism at The 4000 Islands? Let us know in the comments.

Full story on the site: https://asiaunmasked.com/newsletter/uw-21/

Lampang's centuries-old lac-dyed textiles just earned Geographical Indication status, officially protecting it from imit...
13/08/2026

Lampang's centuries-old lac-dyed textiles just earned Geographical Indication status, officially protecting it from imitation. More than 20 artisan groups in this quietly brilliant northern Thai city still make the dye the old way, from the resin of the lac insect rather than synthetic pigment. It's a good reason to take the train up to North Thailand to the only place in Thailand where horse-drawn carriages have survived, even if these days they're running city tours rather than the school run.

The full story is here:
https://asiaunmasked.com/newsletter/uw-21/

Have you visited Lampang? Let us know in the comments below👇

Oslob's swim-with-whale-sharks tours draw the crowds, but they're built on feeding wild whale sharks to keep them close,...
12/08/2026

Oslob's swim-with-whale-sharks tours draw the crowds, but they're built on feeding wild whale sharks to keep them close, and the science on what that does to the animals isn't good. A few hundred kilometres away, Pintuyan in Southern Leyte is running things differently, no feeding, community-run through the KASAKA cooperative, backed by law since the Panaon Island Protected Seascape was established last year. We compared both models properly, feeding-based tourism against Pintuyan's alternative, and what the research actually says about each: https://asiaunmasked.com/conservation/oslob_whale_shark_conservation/

We'd welcome your comments...

In the Philippines, Oslob guarantees you'll see a whale shark. That's exactly the problem. A decade of peer-reviewed res...
10/08/2026

In the Philippines, Oslob guarantees you'll see a whale shark. That's exactly the problem. A decade of peer-reviewed research shows the feeding that makes those sightings so reliable has left 95% of Oslob's whale sharks carrying human-caused scarring, and changed how they migrate. On the other side of the country, a small community on Panaon Island in Southern Leyte has spent over a decade proving there's a better way, and last year that stretch of ocean became a nationally protected seascape. We compare both models, and the honest trade-offs of choosing the ethical one. Read my story and let me know what you think in the comments: https://asiaunmasked.com/conservation/oslob_whale_shark_conservation/

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