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Laos Essential Artistry Posting Page
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
 We are proud at Laos Essential Artistry that we are promoting two initiatives included within Stay Another Day in Laos, aimed at promoting promoting sustainable tourism. The two initiatives we directly support are Big Brother Mouse through our Giving Back and Lao Mountain Coffee, which we sell when we have the coffee in stock and we're also thinking of how we can support the outstanding work of COPE. In the 80 page booklet that is available free in many locations throughout Laos, they write that "Tourism has grown rapidly in recent years, and is a source of both pride and employment for many Lao people. However, the increasing numbers of visitors can also have negative environmental and social consequences and typically these impact upon the poorest of people. The International Finance Corporation's Mekong Private Sector Development Facility is working in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to promote the development of sustainable or destination friendly tourism. This is tourism that is commercially viable, and at the same time creates broader benefits for society and supports conservation of the natural, historic and cultural asses on which tourism depends." When we led study tours back in 2002 and 2003 we promoted them as being designed explicitly to enable participants to expand their historic and cultural insights while making important connections, such as are encouraged through Stay Another Day Laos. Unfortunately most tours, even other study tours, and tourism in general can become commodified (typical tourist experience) and trivialized – a mere producer of cultural products, such as food, dance, and art, for our consumption. It is our belief that this typical “tourist” approach robs participants of the chance to gain significant cross-cultural understanding and we are extremely glad to help promote the initiatives included within Stay Another Day Laos. by: Laos Essential Artistry 
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