-01.png)
-11.png){kind=small}
LATest e-bulletin November '25
- Gabriele Di Terlizzi
- Nov 6
- 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 The Flow Between Peaks and People ③ Talent Shortage ④ Maluku, an Indonesia Odyssey ⑤ Art Jakarta ⑥ Timor Leste joins ASEAN ⑦ Further East Bali
The truth is a great mind must be androgynous.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
LAT News and Updates
Don’t miss the latest updates from our destinations, partners, and teams. Visit the News Section to discover new openings, travel trends, product launches, and behind-the-scenes stories that keep you connected to our world. Click the link below!
The Flow Between Peaks and People
Fabio’s life traces a rare arc, from the silence of alpine dawns to the restless rhythm of Asian metropolises.
Once a professional mountain guide and accomplished alpinist, he learned early that true mastery lies not in conquest, but in awareness, that guiding others, whether on a sheer face of granite or through the shifting terrain of enterprise, demands both precision and compassion.
Today, as a Director and CEO of LAT, a travel establishment operating across four Southeast Asian countries, Fabio carries that same ethos into his leadership: measured, humane, and deeply conscious.
The mountains taught him that responsibility is never a posture, it is presence; that vision without understanding is blind; and that teams, like roped climbers, move only as far as their trust will allow.
His forthcoming book, The Flow of Ube Zleb, is a mirror to this journey: a poetic and philosophical memoir spanning the analog past and the digital present, tracing the evolution from a Europe of ideals to an Asia of possibilities. Through the figures of Ube Zleb and Ghaber, Fabio explores the liberation of the self from inherited fears, and the rediscovery of authenticity through knowledge, art, and emotional intelligence.
Painter, writer, and traveler of inner and outer worlds, Fabio sees no border between ascent and insight. For him, the highest peaks are not those reached by altitude, but by understanding, by the capacity to look at life with unclouded eyes and to lead with awareness.
Talent Shortage
Three years after the world reopened post-pandemic, the global travel and tourism sector continues to face a significant shortfall in human resources.
We need to reflect on the current state of hiring across travel, tourism, hospitality, and aviation, noting that despite the industry’s rapid recovery since 2022, a persistent talent shortage remains.
COVID certainly left an effect on the labour market. While the industry has rebounded strongly, there is still a severe talent shortage. If anyone has made hires recently, you’re probably facing difficulties, because the industry lost about 70% of its workforce during the pandemic.
Indeed, statistics show that nearly three-quarters of the global travel and tourism workforce had to leave the sector to seek employment elsewhere, and not all have returned. The result: widening gaps in the global talent pool.
Today, competition for qualified candidates is intense. Hiring managers and HR departments worldwide are carefully scrutinzing skills and adaptability, often without regard to nationality or geography.
In Asia-Pacific, recovery has been robust, but hospitality staffing levels remain 20% below pre-2020 figures.
In Europe, several airlines have been forced to cancel flights due to insufficient staff, while in North America and Australia, many restaurants have reduced operating hours simply because they can’t find workers.
Approximately 80% of employers in the industry currently report talent shortages, with hospitality turnover rates two to three times higher than the global average.
One underlying factor is a generational shift in work attitudes.
Gen Z prioritizes flexibility and purpose over salary; they also seek inclusivity and sustainability, wanting to work for organizations that reflect their values. For them, career development is inseparable from wellbeing, and all of this is precisely what LAT stands for.
Maluku, an Indonesia Odyssey
Scattered like emeralds across Indonesia’s eastern seas, the Maluku Islands, once known as the Spice Islands, remain one of the archipelago’s most beguiling and least visited corners. Once the epicenter of global spice trade wars, today they offer travelers a rare glimpse of raw beauty, deep history, and cultural diversity.
Centuries ago, Arab and Chinese traders, then Portuguese, Dutch, and British powers, fought over these islands for control of clove and nutmeg, then worth their weight in gold. What remains now is a chain of over a thousand islands, administered by Maluku and North Maluku provinces, where colonial forts overlook turquoise bays and coral reefs stretch to the horizon.
With warm weather year-round, the best time to explore is October to January, when seas are calm and rain subsides, ideal for island-hopping through Indonesia’s fabled spice route.
Most journeys begin on Ambon Island, the provincial capital and UNESCO-designated City of Music. A mix of bustle and charm, Ambon’s landmarks include the Jambatan Merah-Putih bridge, Pattimura Square, and the World Peace Gong, commemorating the end of the Ambon Conflict (1999–2002).
At Mardika Market, locals barter over heaps of fresh fish, turmeric, and cloves, while uphill, the Christina Martha Tiahahu statue honors a Moluccan heroine who resisted Dutch colonial rule.
Beyond the city, Ambon offers easy escapes: the Taeno Waterfall, the beaches of Natsepa, and the clear pools of Lubang Buaya Morella near Waai village.
A one-hour flight or overnight ferry south of Ambon brings you to the Banda Islands, an 11-island cluster encircling Gunung Api, a dormant volcano rising from the sea. Here, nutmeg was once worth a fortune, sparking bloody battles between Dutch and English traders.
In Banda Neira, explore Fort Belgica, a five-bastion citadel, and the ruins of Fort Nassau, site of a 1620 colonial massacre. Climb Gunung Api for sweeping views over coral-fringed isles, or dive off nearby Ai and Run Islands, where vibrant reefs teem with life.
On Banda Besar, visit nutmeg plantations still tended by descendants of 17th-century farmers, and the scenic lookout of Pohon Sejuta Umat.
Eight hours east of Banda by ferry, or a short flight from Ambon, the Kei Islands dazzle with their white sands and aquamarine seas. Pasir Panjang Beach on Kei Kecil stretches three kilometers, often empty except for local children playing in the surf.
Nearby, at Ohoidertawun Beach, low tide reveals limestone caves etched with ancient petroglyphs, while inland, the Goa Hawang cave pool glows with surreal turquoise light.
Boat trips take travelers to sandbanks like Ngurtavur and secret islets such as Pulau Baer, perfect for snorkeling through karst passages.
To the north, the twin volcanic islands of Ternate and Tidore were once rival sultanates commanding the spice trade. Ternate’s Tolukko Fort (1522) and the Sultan’s Palace Museum trace its colonial past, while the Masjid Raya Al Munawwar Mosque dominates the skyline.
Nature lovers can visit Batu Angus, a vast lava field, or the twin crater lakes of Danau Tolire, backdropped by Mount Gamalama. A short speedboat ride connects Ternate with Tidore, where Fort Tahula offers spectacular views across to Halmahera Island.
Shaped like an X and covered in rainforest, Halmahera is the largest island in the northern group—and one of Indonesia’s last frontiers. From the coastal town of Tobelo, adventurers can trek to Mount Dukono, a volcano that has been erupting continuously since 1933. The overnight climb rewards visitors with glowing lava views under the stars.
North of Tobelo, a short ferry leads to Morotai Island, a World War II battleground where Allied troops landed in 1944. Today, its Museum Rakyat preserves haunting relics—from rusted weapons to air-raid sirens.
The Maluku Islands remain a world apart,where time slows, seas shimmer, and history whispers through volcanic ridges and coral shallows. For those seeking beauty unspoiled by mass tourism, this forgotten corner of Indonesia offers something rare: the feeling of true discovery.
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
Art Jakarta
Indonesia’s premier art fair, Art Jakarta, continues to attract regional attention with works from masters like Affandi to rising talents, alongside galleries from across Asia. Yet behind the vibrant displays lies a cooling market. After years of rapid growth driven by young, globally minded collectors and corporate sponsors like Bibit and BCA, buying has slowed amid economic jitters and corruption trials.
Collectors aren’t poorer, just cautious. With prices softening and fewer high-end sales, galleries are shifting to smaller, affordable works and collaborations with interior designers. Despite limited museum infrastructure and tax incentives, Art Jakarta remains Southeast Asia’s key art hub, where commerce, culture, and creativity still converge, even as the market learns to breathe.
HIGHLIGHTS
Timor Leste joins ASEAN
Timor-Leste joins ASEAN as 11th member! The Association of Southeast Asian Nations – commonly referred to as ASEAN – has welcomed its 11th member for the first time in 26 years. Timor-Leste was officially admitted on October 26 during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
Timor-Leste is the first country to join the grouping since Cambodia’s admission in 1999.
Further East Bali
Further East 2025 to spotlight alternative urban escapes, emerging travel trends. The annual event where global travel buyers meet distinctive brands in Asia-Pacific, will hold its sixth edition with record attendance and a focus on new regional trends. Scheduled for November 3 to 6 in Seminyak, Bali, Further East 2025 will host more than 600 delegates and introduce programmes aimed at fostering stronger connections.
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
OUR HOTELS AND OUR LUXURY SAILING YACHT
Click here for more details about our resorts.
Click here for more details about our Phinisi vessel.
