LATest e-bulletin October '25

Gabriele Di Terlizzi
Oct 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 Forgotten Rohingya ③ The Quiet Season ④ Malaysia Hungry Ghost Festival ⑤ LAT Mangers Retreat ⑥ Rinjani Reopens ⑦ Scoot Europe to Indonesia

They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm

Dorothy Parker

LAT News and Updates

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LAT News

Forgotten Rohingya

Life for the 1m or so Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh—and for counterparts who remain in Rakhine state in neighbouring Myanmar—has long been grim. Yet lately a rash of setbacks has made conditions worse. The UN has held a high-level conference on the persecuted Muslim group in New York, the first such meeting on their plight. The most immediate problem concerns funding for the giant camps in Bangladesh. America, the biggest provider of cash, has slashed aid, causing health clinics and schools to shut down. Yet as money dries up, the number of Rohingyas seeking refuge continues to rise. Many have been forced from their homes in Rakhine during fighting between Myanmar’s junta and the Arakan Army, an ethnic militia also accused of targeting Rohingyas. Few expect any long-term solutions to the Rohingya crisis to emerge from the un meeting, but the hope is that fresh publicity about the forgotten crisis will at least get more aid flowing again into the camps.

The Quiet Season

There is a certain magic in traveling when the world has gone quiet. When the crowds have dispersed and the rush has softened, the rhythm of a journey changes. The pace slows; space returns. Streets seem wider, conversations linger longer, and even the air feels more generous — as though the place itself is exhaling after the noise of high season.

Traveling off-season is not about bargains or empty hotels, though those may come. It is about intimacy — the kind that appears only when there is time to notice. A conversation with a shopkeeper that drifts into story, a walk without a plan, the sudden beauty of a landscape half-shrouded in mist. These moments belong to no itinerary; they unfold only when the world around them is unhurried.

There is also a quiet kind of balance in traveling when others do not. It spreads the footsteps across the year, eases the strain on the places we love, and gives those who work in travel a steadier life. The exchange becomes more equal — less transaction, more connection.

Off-season travel asks for patience, for openness to imperfection. The skies may be gray, a door may be closed, a festival may have passed. But in that absence, something else appears: authenticity. The raw, unpolished pulse of life as it is, not as it is performed for the visitor.

To travel in the quiet season is to meet the world as it breathes naturally — slower, softer, and, in many ways, truer.

Malaysia’s Hungry Ghost Festival

The air is thick with smoke from dozens of joss sticks wedged into prayer urns. Around a large wooden table in the middle of a makeshift temple, Malaysian Chinese devotees move in slow circles. Behind them, a paper-and-bamboo deity grins with carnivalesque delight.

The deity’s name in the Hokkien language is Tai Su Yeah (Da Shi Ye in Mandarin), known as the King of Hell. Each year during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the gates of the underworld swing open, and this guardian of ghosts—an avatar of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy—returns to earth.

With him come countless restless souls seeking release from Diyu, the Taoist and Buddhist purgatory where spirits must cleanse themselves before reincarnation. The ceremony to appease them is called Phor Thor in Hokkien and Yu Lan in Mandarin. The living must assist through prayers and offerings: good food, cold beer, and plenty of spectacle.

The Hungry Ghost Festival, which shares its roots with Japan’s midsummer Bon Festival (when spirits return to earth for family reunions), is observed by Chinese communities across East and Southeast Asia. Families mark the occasion by burning “hell money” and paper ingots for the dead.

In Singapore and Malaysia, however, the festival takes on a particularly vibrant life of its own, with community-funded celebrations featuring life-size paper effigies, mediums possessed by deities, and street burnings of enormous statues of Tai Su Yeah.

This year’s monthlong celebration runs from Aug. 23 to Sept. 21. During this period, temporary shrines appear on street corners to keep the joss sticks burning and the roaming ghosts entertained.

Stages come alive with thumping disco beats and the wailing voices of kotai singers—a glitzy, modern alternative to traditional puppetry and Chinese opera, which not every neighborhood can afford. The older performances are becoming rarer, as they are costly to stage, with some reaching 10,000 Malaysian ringgit ($2,370) per show.

The festival is especially popular in Penang, the only Malaysian state where the number of ethnic Chinese residents roughly equals that of Malays. Franco Tan, of the Penang Teong Guan Association, oversees a shrine on Queen Street in George Town’s Little India district. He estimates that there are around 400 shrines across the state.

The largest Tai Su Yeah effigy ever built was a 10-meter-tall statue created in Alor Setar, Kedah, in 2022. But in most years, the biggest is found in Bukit Mertajam, across the strait from Penang Island on the mainland.

Since 1984, master craftsman Ng Chi Wang has built the statue each year in his Bukit Mertajam workshop in the suburb of Berapit. With every festival, the god grows a little taller—this year reaching 9 meters.

The effigy, assembled in sections and transported by truck to a covered alley beside the Tua Pek Kong Temple, was carried on Sept. 8 to Jalan Pasar, a bustling road in the heart of Bukit Mertajam, where it was set alight.

Firefighters stood by as the flames consumed the paper deity—a ritual both terrifying and exhilarating, equal parts devotion and spectacle. In the end, the King of Hell crumbled to ash. But next year, he will rise again—still grinning.

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

LAT Managers Retreat

In early October, the Managers of Lotus Asia Tours gathered in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day retreat dedicated to reflection, discussion, and the collective growth of the company.

It was a valuable opportunity to meet face-to-face, exchange ideas, and strengthen sense of belonging that connects our teams across the Region.

The central theme of this year’s retreat, “Mobility & Growth” invited all of us to explore both physical and intellectual mobility: the ability to adapt, move, and evolve, not only geographically but also in the way we think, communicate, and collaborate.

Guided by our CEO, Fabio, the sessions encouraged us to look beyond habits and certainties, embracing curiosity, openness, and continuous self-assessment as essential drivers of progress. Key concepts such as communication, critical thinking, and the ethics of uncertainty were discussed as tools to navigate complexity, make informed decisions, and encourage a culture of responsibility and innovation.

Beyond reflection, the retreat also led to concrete outcomes. Together, we identified shared goals, deadlines, and specific actions to improve internal processes, enhance cooperation between departments, and strengthen the company’s long-term vision.

It was an inspiring and enriching experience that reminded us that growth is a collective journey, where every action we take plays a part in shaping the future of Lotus Asia Tours.

HIGHLIGHTS

Rinjani Reopens

New and stricter Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been introduced for climbers of Mount Rinjani in Lombok as the Mount Rinjani National Park reopens. The park had been temporarily closed following a series of accidents last month that resulted in one fatality and several injuries.

Under the updated regulations, all climbers must adhere to enhanced safety protocols and be accompanied by certified guides. Each climber is now required to present a valid health certificate and proof of insurance before entry.

Climbers under the age of 17 or those without prior mountain climbing experience must be accompanied by a certified guide. A strict guide-to-climber ratio has also been established, allowing one guide for every five climbers, with one porter assigned for every two to three climbers.

Additionally, all visitors are required to attend a mandatory safety briefing before beginning their trek to ensure awareness of park rules, emergency procedures, and environmental responsibilities.

Scoot Europe to Indonesia

Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has launched a virtual interline platform developed in partnership with travel technology company Dohop. The platform leverages Dohop interline technology to enable airlines to establish flexible partnerships quickly, complementing traditional interline and codeshare agreements. Through this integration, customers beginning their search on Scoot’s website can now connect to the platform and book self-connect itineraries, combining flights operated by Scoot and its partner airlines in a single seamless process. The new platform offers Connect Sure protection, which safeguards passengers in the event of flight delays or cancellations, providing added assurance and convenience for multi-airline journeys. At launch, Scoot’s initial partners easyJet and Citilink enable customers to book travel from Singapore to over 30 additional destinations across Europe and Indonesia, extending Scoot’s reach beyond its existing network of 70 international destinations. Travelers can now, for instance, book journeys from Singapore to Milan, Paris, and Geneva, or to Indonesian cities such as Kendari, Solo, and Ambon — all within one streamlined booking experience.

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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