LATest e-bulletin May '25

Gabriele Di Terlizzi
May 8
8 min read

Look at the endless innovative touring products developed by LAT. From slow tourism to tours aways from crowds, from an agile system of modular scheduled departures in different languages to arts, architecture, outdoor, experiential, culinary food and education packages, just to name a few!

All our offers are strictly carbon contribution @ LAT Climate Contribution, all emissions being calculated and offset by projects in cooperation with Climate Partners.

In this issue: ① Quote of the month ② Tourist or traveller; the trap of the self ③ Protecting Customs & Traditions ④ So Many Good Reasons to Work with LAT ⑤ Singapore Elections ⑥ Myanmar Earthquake ⑦ Changi Stands Out ⑧ Malaysia Shortfall

The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do

B.F. Skinner

Tourist or traveller; the trap of the self

In the 1990s, Kishore Mahbubani, the renowned Singaporean intellectual and diplomat, wrote a pamphlet titled: Can Asians Think?

It was a collection of essays reflecting on Southeast Asia’s place in a fast-changing world. But beyond geopolitics and policy, it posed a deeper, more provocative question: are Asians truly capable of thinking critically about themselves and the world around them?

After 35 years in this part of the world, I would say that such a capability is not widely cultivated, not much, indeed.

The reasons are layered in Asian culture where two culprits stand out, rigid education systems and deeply ingrained social norms that consider critical thinking inappropriate. The prevailing mantra is simple: follow without questioning.

This mindset suppresses inquiry at the root. And while brilliant thinkers, capable leaders, and visionary minds certainly exist, they remain the exception, not the norm.

But today, the question Mahbubani raised transcends geography or culture.

In an era dominated by digital technology and artificial intelligence, we must now ask not whether machines can think, but whether humans still can.

This isn’t just a technological shift. It's a civilizational one. When algorithms predict our desires before we’re aware of them, when automation begins to replace craft, intuition, and judgment we aren't just outsourcing labour; we're outsourcing our thinking.

The danger lies not in using AI, but in surrendering to it.

The seduction of ease, seamless, efficient and frictionless is subtly displacing the necessity of thought. So, what’s the alternative? Perhaps it’s discernment.

A middle path, neither blind rejection nor blind acceptance, but a calm, watchful engagement.

To hold things, ideas, tools and people at arm’s length. Not to push them away, but to see them clearly, in full light and shadow. That kind of understanding isn’t just data. It’s cultivated awareness.

It’s the refusal to rush. The willingness to pause, to reflect, to contextualize, to connect the dots before drawing conclusions. But this form of knowledge takes time. Solitude. Resistance to noise.

And these are precisely the qualities modern life works hard to scrub out. Humans often prefer the comfort of structure to the burden of thought.

The unknown, rather than being a space of curiosity and wonder, becomes a threat to be neutralized. And what neutralizes best? A model. A system. A tidy story with answers, even if they’re false ones.

Travel, for instance, should be an act of consciousness. A sacred dislocation. We leave the familiar not to escape, but to encounter others, yes, but also ourselves.

To confront difference. To shatter assumptions. To stretch the mind. But for many, travel has become just another act of consumption.

A checklist of sights. A photo in front of ruins. A curated Instagram feed. A well-reviewed meal.

The journey becomes a product, not a pilgrimage.

We no longer arrive open, we arrive expecting. And when reality doesn’t meet the fantasy, we’re disappointed, as if the world owed us an experience.

Worse still, we the travel professionals, often feed this machine of expectation. Sometimes unaware. Sometimes complicit. Often caught in the same web of performance and pretence.

"Be a traveller, not a tourist"! the modern pilgrim’s bumper sticker. Noble in spirit, maybe. But often hollow in practice. A self-congratulatory mantra that’s become another form of branding. A new ego badge. It pretends to mark a boundary between depth and shallowness, authenticity and superficiality, but mostly, it just builds a new hierarchy of ego.

The "traveller" becomes the morally superior one; I go off the beaten path, I eat with locals, I don’t take selfies. Yet the game remains the same: to be seen as different.

To consume experience as identity, and project that identity as proof of value. It’s still consumption, just dressed in linen pants and a sense of smugness.

But the truth is: the world doesn’t care what we call ourselves.

The mountains don’t care. The old man in the tea shop doesn’t care. The sacred temple, the graffiti-scarred train station, none of them care whether our backpack has patches or wheels, whether we sleep in a five-star suite or a hammock under the stars.

What matters, the only thing that ever matters, is our presence. Our openness.

Our willingness to be changed by a place, rather than use it to reinforce the story we want to tell about ourselves.

The real traveller isn’t the one who avoids tourist traps, it’s the one who avoids the trap of the self.

The whole “be a traveller, not a tourist” hype isn’t foolish because it’s false, it’s foolish because it so easily becomes another performance. Another mask.

In the end, maybe the wisest among us isn't the traveller or the tourist but the witness. The one who walks the world not to conquer it, brand it, or broadcast it but to see it. With reverence. With humility. And with wonder.

LAT Customer Service Contact Number Update

Please be informed that, effective 1st May 2025, our text and voice contact numbers have been consolidated into a single number:

New Contact Number: 📞 +62 361 6208838

To ensure a smooth transition, our existing contact numbers will remain operational until 31st May 2025 and will be deactivated on 1st June 2025.

Please update your records accordingly.

Protecting Customs & Traditions

Bali authorities have issued new regulations for foreign visitors to protect the island’s cultural heritage and promote respectful, sustainable tourism.

Under the new rules, visitors must respect sacred sites, religious symbols, and Balinese customs. This includes wearing appropriate attire in public areas and tourist destinations, and maintaining proper behaviour in temples, restaurants, and on the streets.

The circular outlines specific prohibitions, such as entering temples without traditional Balinese clothing, climbing sacred trees, and acting disruptively at spiritual sites. It also bans littering, the use of single-use plastics, and inappropriate conduct — both in person and online.

This new circular replaces the 2023 version, which had similar intentions but limited impact due to leadership transitions and insufficient public education. The updated regulations use firmer language, clarify responsibilities, and involve a broader outreach strategy, including local schools and traditional village networks.

While industry representatives have expressed support for the measures, they stress the importance of effective enforcement. Regulations alone are not enough — without clear consequences for violations, they risk being ignored.

Education plays a critical role in preserving culture. Efforts must go beyond informing tourists and reach local residents as well. Traditional leaders, local communities, and authorities are the first line of defence in upholding these values.

Ultimately, the biggest challenge may lie in the mindset of many travellers, who often arrive with little awareness of the countries they visit, carrying with them the assumptions of their own cultural frameworks. They show limited respect for different traditions, despite the fact that travel is — or should be — about embracing diversity and engaging in new experiences, intellectually, visually, and emotionally.

So Many Good Reasons to Work with LAT

Established in 1991

Independently owned and operated

Purely B2B with travel industry partners

Online booking engine with immediate

confirmation of hotels, tours and transfers

Skilful Contents Provider and Technology user

Knowledgeable and efficient reservations personnel

Long and proud association with the MICE industry in all Lotus destinations

Fully committed to Sustainability and CSR

Climate Contribution for all packages and services on offer

Extensive selection of scheduled group departures and innovative product lines Direct access to a vast pool of local professional contributors

Owns 5 small boutique island hotels strategically located and one luxury sailing yacht

Multilingual guides in all destinations

Operations offices throughout its destinations

Centralised bookings and payments for multi destination tours 24/7 assistance with interactive voice response available in four languages

LAT Application with UpToDate itineraries and info for guests. Downloadable from Apple and Play Stores

TATTLER

Singapore Elections

Singaporeans handed Lawrence Wong’s People’s Action Party (PAP) a comfortable victory in the general election. The PAP, which has governed uninterrupted for 66 years, secured 87 out of 97 seats in Parliament.

The outcome surprised many observers who believed the ruling party was losing ground to the opposition.

However, Prime Minister Wong’s message of stability and reliability—especially amid global uncertainties like the trade war—appealed to voters in a country where the trade-to-GDP ratio exceeds 300%.

HIGHLIGHTS

Myanmar Earthquake

When an earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28th it piled misery upon civil war. It was the deadliest quake since one that shook Turkey and Syria in 2023. But as civilians clawed through rubble, Myanmar’s ruling junta bombed areas that had been devastated by the disaster. Its leaders reluctantly declared a ceasefire six days later, after rebel groups had already done so.

The truce has been hollow. Since it began, the junta has killed at least 80 people in more than 120 air strikes and artillery barrages. The earthquake, which claimed 3,700 lives, has compounded the humanitarian nightmare created by four years of war. With 3.5m people displaced, the United Nations is warning of imminent public-health emergencies. Strong aftershocks continue to shake the country, disrupting the response of aid workers. Myanmar’s plight shows how natural disasters can exacerbate the suffering caused by conflict.

Changi Stands Out

Singapore Changi Airport, which recorded approximately 67.7 million passenger movements in 2024, has been named the World’s Best Airport 2025 at the prestigious Skytrax World Airport Awards, held during the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Madrid. This marks the 13th time Changi Airport has received this top honour, reaffirming its status as a global aviation leader known for innovation, service excellence, and passenger comfort.

In addition to clinching the top accolade, Changi also secured awards for World’s Best Airport Dining, World’s Best Airport Washrooms, and Best Airport in Asia, bringing its total to over 690 airport awards to date.

Malaysia Shortfall

Malaysia recorded just over 25 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, falling short of the 27.3 million, target set by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture last year. The total figure of 25,016,698 arrivals still marked a 24.2% increase from the 20,141,846 arrivals reported in 2023, Ministry of Tourism says.

It is important to note that this figure includes commuters crossing land borders with Singapore and Thailand, which are factored into the overall computation.

Our whole product for free and independent travellers, groups and MICE are based on a Climate Contribution programme. This means that part of the greenhouse gas emissions that will be generated are offset by projects in collaboration with Climate Partner, one of the leading climate protection solution providers for companies.

The arising emissions are being compensated by supporting a third-party certified geothermal energy project in Darajat, Java (Indonesia). The project helps to meet the growing demand for electricity in Indonesia. By increasing the share of renewable energy, the dependence on fossil fuel-based electricity decreases, and about 705,390 tonnes of CO2 emissions are saved per year.

For over thirty years, Lotus Asia Tours Group has provided services and assistance to travellers the world over, specialising in the design and implementation of corporate events, activities, incentive tours and motivational travel, targeted at FIT, GIT and MICE markets, in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indochina. The group also operates five boutique island hotels in Indonesia, in Lombok, Bali, Sulawesi, Papua and Maluku, as well as a seven-cabin luxury sailing yacht.

To learn more about our brand please head to our website, or contact us directly; we look forward to hearing how we could help make your next trip, tour or event memorable and successful.

Corporate Office D-5-4 Megan Avenue 1, 189 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia T: +60 (0)3 21617075 · F: +60 (0)3 21617084 · E: latgroup@lotusasiatours.com

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