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COURTESY PHOTOS/BILL TUFFIN The Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant is located in the lush Luang Namtha Valley in Laos. The area's rainy season lasts from May until October.

Former Puebloan helps to expand ecotourism in Southeast Asia

By AMY MATTHEW
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Perched on the bank of the Namtha River, just outside the town of Luang Namtha, Laos, is a group of simple bungalows ensconced by vegetation greener than Kermit's belly.

It's not the Hilton, but the small lodge, The Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant, represents a significant step in the rural region's foray into the growing ecotourism industry - and a former Puebloan helped bring it to life. The lodge is the brainchild of Sompawn "Pawn" Khantisouk, a 29-year-old Laos native, and Bill Tuffin, 43, who grew up in Pueblo and has lived in Laos for the last 14 years. Khantisouk is the property's owner/manager and Tuffin is the marketing director.

"I never intended to leave Colorado," Tuffin said. "One thing led to another and I just kept staying."

Tuffin and Khantisouk met in the early 1990s, when Khantisouk was still in high school. Tuffin, who graduated from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vt., with a degree in public administration, was establishing a primary health-care project in the area and Khantisouk helped him by performing various jobs.

Soon, though, Khantisouk left the village to study architectural drafting. Tuffin spent time in two other cities before returning to Luang Namtha, where Khantisouk soon returned, as well, now with his wife, Joy, and infant son.

The men began discussing the idea of establishing some type of tourist stop for the boaters, bikers and trekkers who were starting to discover the area. (The communist government eased travel restrictions for foreigners in 1994 and, both men say, has encouraged local economic development.)

Sompawn Khantisouk (left) and Bill Tuffin run The Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant, an ecotourism lodge in Luang Namtha Province, Laos. Tuffin is a former Puebloan who has lived in Laos for 14 years.

"We always had this idea of doing a guest house, and Pawn's parents had this land by the river," Tuffin said during a recent trip to Pueblo. "It was just a daydream and before I knew what was happening . . . "

Khantisouk put his degree to use, designing buildings that matched the local style and used natural materials, but were comfortable enough that visitors would enjoy staying for several days. The Boat Landing opened in December 1999 with two bungalows and a restaurant, run by Joy Khantisouk, that serves simple Lao meals. "The whole idea is that tourism can help the local economy," Tuffin said. "But you need to do it in a sensitive, planned way. Don't make the (local) children beggars - do something that benefits the community."

The Boat Landing contributed roughly $47,000 to Luang Namtha's economy last year through use of local services and vendors, he said. That represents about 75 percent of the lodge's annual expenses.

Khantisouk and Tuffin weren't even aware of the term "ecotourism" when they opened the guest house.

"We thought it was just nature-based tourism," Tuffin said.

In early 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) began a national ecotourism project in Laos and invited Khantisouk to take part in a six-month training program in Vientiane, the capital city.

"I thought it would be interesting," he said. "For three months, I didn't know what I (was) doing."

"There was a lot of synergy between us and the program," Tuffin said. "We were actually a model for what they were trying to do."

The Boat Landing has become a member of several ecotourism organizations. One of those, Green Globe 21, requires travel and tourism operations to maintain specific environmental and social standards in order to be certified. Tuffin said ecotourism businesses have a "triple bottom line" to monitor: economic, ecological and social.

"Your decision process is different," he said.

The two continue to educate local residents about how tourism can benefit them and the town without harming their way of life.

"Sometimes they think, ‘Why do (people) come here?’ " Khantisouk said.

"If the locals think about tourism and what they want to do, they want to go to a city, or the ocean," Tuffin added.

But acceptance of the idea is growing. Several businesses already are seeing how the lodge's success is extending to them: In contrast to the situation that exists between many hotels and local business owners in tourist areas, The Boat Landing does not charge any fee for referring customers.

"(We're) a bridge between the tourists and the local people," Tuffin explained. "The boatmen say if it wasn't for The Boat Landing, they'd be out of business."

Khantisouk and Tuffin are considering adding more nature tours to their list of services; Khantisouk already is a lead guide for the Nam Ecotourism Project. They're also in the process of creating a cookbook that will feature Joy's recipes.

The Boat Landing is located on the bank of the Namtha River in Luang Namtha, Laos. The successful ecotourism business opened in 1999 and is the brainchild of Laos native Sompawn Khantisouk and former Puebloan Bill Tuffin.

There are no plans to expand the lodging capacity: "We want to keep the family feeling," Khantisouk said.

Tuffin said he doesn't know how long he'll stay in Laos. When he first arrived, he was one of only 25 Americans in the country, he said; now there are about 1,000.

He's acclimated to the Lao language, customs and food now, and has plenty of access to outside information via the Internet and satellite TV.

"It would be a big change to come back here," he acknowledged.

For now, there's plenty to keep him busy overseas. He and Khantisouk are in the United States to pick up a group of 17- and 18-year-old students, who will fly back to Luang Namtha with them for a 40-day stay. It's not your typical teen-age vacation, but it is an indicator of how word is spreading about The Boat Landing - something Tuffin is pleased to be part of.

"It's been very, very successful," he said. "It's a positive experience for both visitors and the local people."

For information about The Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant, visit the lodge's Web site, www.theboatlanding.com .

COURTESY PHOTO/BILL TUFFIN A visitor from the United States relaxes on the porch of one of The Boat Landing's bungalows. The high tourist season runs from November to February, said the lodge's marketing director, Bill Tuffin.