2024 is almost coming to a close and this is a time when we traditionally reflect on the past year.

First of all, I would like to thank our readers for reading my CEO stories. I very much appreciate receiving so many personal emails thanking Asian Trails for inspiration, new product ideas, general news and information that is relevant to tourism professionals across the planet.

Two stories I wrote that particularly inspired readers this year were the overland train journey from China to Laos and the Sumba island exploration.

With Bali overtourism news hitting the international press this year, we make it a mission to highlight the hundreds of other beautiful spots to explore in Indonesia.

It is all a personal preference of course, the Bali brand is as strong as ever, but we offer numerous alternatives in combination with Bali or as standalone Indonesia trips. Sumba is a fantastic island to discover diverse attractions and enjoy days relaxing on immaculate beaches.

I had the privilege of visiting in June and I witnessed a rich culture and an abundance of adventure pursuits on offer, including hikes to pristine waterfalls, swimming in lagoons and surfing legendary waves off the island’s south coast. All of this is easy to reach through a 90-minute flight from Bali.

The expansion of China’s high-speed railway network into Laos has opened new and diverse travel possibilities between these two countries. Our Yunnan to Laos tours combine Tibetan culture, historical Chinese towns, mountain tea trails, Buddhism and river journeys.

I travelled in spotlessly clean carriages during my rail journey from China to Laos this year. The trains departed on time from brand new stations resembling modern airports. This was a great way to sit back, relax and enjoy an ever-changing view.

The launch of our Explore brochures – highlighting our sustainable excursions – attracted a strong following over 2024. It is our readers who inspired us to create these brochures and the products featured within these online guides. The hunger for true sustainable travel highlights the importance of these low-impact activities.

Our teams will continue to travel to the far corners of every country and to the hidden corners of established cities to create new and exceptional experiences.

Protecting communities and their local environment in search of new and unique adventures is a key element in all of these creations.

We want to craft new opportunities for our host communities and make them an integral part of our responsible activities so they get a share of the benefits of tourism.

Technology was a key focus in 2024 and we managed to substantially grow our B2B online sales. E-commerce has become a key pillar at Asian Trails and we have major expansion plans in the years to come.

We continuously connect tour operators, travel agents, OTAs and other travel buyers to our systems and we have considerably expanded our connectivity to suppliers, channel managers and hotel chains.

Our online platform eConnect offers tour operators and travel agents real time, dynamic and static hotel rates, with immediate confirmation, plus transfers, tours and excursions.

eConnect can be white labelled to B2B and B2C customer preferences, offering state of the art technology. At Asian Trails you can be assured of a seamless service – we are on the spot in all of our destinations, we take care of travelling customers through 24/7 support and on the rare occasion something is amiss, callers talk to real people, not chatbots!

In partnership with our technology partner, we also offer multi-lingual digital trails in major cities, including Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi. These trails are a combination of guided excursions and self-guided content to suit each traveller’s personal preferences.

These are very economical and they can also be white labelled for congress organisers and other parties, with the supply of individual logos. We can even tailor make specific content. Thanks to AI, we will soon be offering multi-lingual live guiding with simultaneous translations.

Our updated Cloud Tariff provides inspiration to both tour operators and travel agents and it offers the opportunity to book ready-made packages flawlessly.

Unique experiences in our Culinary Trails, Authentic Trails and Active Trails – just to mention a few – await travellers who book any of these themed tours.

Many of these can be designed to bespoke, personal preferences. We pride ourselves on our experienced and knowledgeable teams who know how to put themselves in the shoes of our customers and create unforgettable journeys across Asia.

We were honoured to be voted ‘Best Travel Agency 2024 for South-East Asia’ by the readers of TTG Asia. Our biggest thanks go to our readers who made this award happen. THANK YOU!

Please stay tuned with us throughout 2025. Our various social media channels will reveal the very latest travel news and events across South-East Asia and China.

We look forward to building on an exciting and successful 2024!

Laurent Kuenzle
Chief Executive Officer, Asian Trails