Feature: ASEAN ecotourism forum in Laos aimed at easing travel to region's natural wonders

inning Nam Nern Sight Safari, a boat tour which sees locals rewarded for safely identifying and preserving rare wildlife.

Such attractions exist along with the increasingly popular karst-strewn tourist hotspot of Vang Vieng, home to famed mountain biking trails, river kayaking and tubing, hot air ballooning, spelunking and more.

The popular town will promise even more when it's connected to the Lao-China railway now under construction and part of a planned rail link from Kunming all the way to Singapore, that will bring millions of people closer together.

Such initiatives along with improved roads, smoother visa and cross-border movements and improved peer-to-peer links between sites in different countries of the region, are seen as key to unlocking the vast potential of ecotourism, bringing joy to travelers and creating useful and sustainable employment opportunities for rural and remote communities, as they seek to improve their lives and livelihoods in harmony with the preservation of their rich cultural and natural heritage. Endit