By Rinzin Jamtsho

Learn to identify and harvest the fabled wild Matsutake mushrooms of Bhutan. Prized by gourmets in Japan, this fungi is native to the forests of Ura valley in central Bhutan. Celebrate alongside the people of Ura for three days, as yet another mushroom season arrives, bringing the opportunity not only to sample some truly delicious meals but to cultivate a deeper insight into the rhythms of Bhutanese village life.

In the past decade, Pakistan has continued to face significant challenges and barriers to healthy development of the country’s tourism industry: the great tragedy of 9/11 in 2001; the horrific earthquake in 2005; the devastating floods that once again wreaked havoc on most of the country in 2010. As the nation struggles to recover from these catastrophic events, Pakistan has now lost its Tourism Ministry, halting the country’s efforts to re-develop its tourism sector before it has even had a chance to begin.

By Marcus Cotton

Tiger Mountain Nepal has been working closely with a research graduate of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT), Jenefer Bobbin, who has designed a unique and excellent scheme called Responsible Tourism Reporting. Responsible Tourism Reporting, or RT Reporting, is a method of audit which can be used to validate the claims made by eco-tourism operations.

Relief Riders International is an adventure travel company that leads relief missions on horseback through the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. Alexander Souri founded Relief Riders International (RRI) in 2004 and Relief Workers International (RWI) in 2008. He designs and supervises the relief missions, coordinates the work of the core team, and directs marketing and sales efforts for both RRI and RWI.

TIES Association member Ecotourism Society Pakistan (ESP) announced The Region project in May 2010 with the aim of building and strengthening relationships among intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, tour operators and other stakeholders from across South Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

The Blue Yonder (TIES Business Member) sponsored an eco-holiday trip “River Nila Holiday” last year that was featured on TIES ecoAuction. Spending days along the River Nila in the Malabar region of Kerala, and enjoying uniquely local experiences, the trip offers travelers an opportunity to get to know Kerala’s great local heritage sites and culinary highlights in an intimate way. Myriam and Titou, who participated in the River Nila Holiday journey with The Blue Yonder in 2009, share their Kerala experiences…

Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CMAT), in partnership with Destination Management Organization (DMO) of Chitral, celebrated the International Day of Climate Change Action (October 10, 2010 – 10/10/10), which was initiated by 350.org, was celebrated in Booni, Chitral (Northern Pakistan), through the facilitation of and 350.org. The theme of the day was “Breaking of Booni Glacier, Its Relation to Climate Change.”

Help Tourism have been at the vanguard of sustainable tourism initiatives in North East India for well over a decade. They have developed a wide variety of adventure and activity programs, including trekking in the Himalayas, tiger, rhino and bird spotting in the National Parks and Reserves networks, elephant safaris, jungle lodges, heritage and cultural tours in this fascinating and diverse region of India. Uniquely, all these programs are designed with specific sustainable development and conservation goals in mind.

Spiti Ecosphere is an endeavour to promote community-based ecotourism in the Spiti valley, a stunning high altitude desert region tucked away in the Trans-Himalayan belt of Himachal Pradesh. A passion for conservation, mountain travel and adventure brought together a collaboration of local community members and professionals from diverse backgrounds to offer a range of trekking, mountaineering, biking, rafting, cultural and spiritual adventures in this beautiful and remote corner of the Himalayas.

The Jalore Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 2005 in a remote jungle area of granite hills, savanna and forest, is the first and only privately owned and operated wildlife sanctuary in India. The sanctuary’s mission is to balance the needs of locals and wildlife by combining conservation and ecotourism. The idea to create a new wildlife refuge in Jalore was first born out of discussions among a group of friends and family – Gajendra Singh Chouhan, a patron of the arts from Jodhpur, and his friends