Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, recognized as one of the most biologically important regions of the planet. However, regardless of the rich and rare species diversity, GMS is not currently on the world’s “wildlife tourism map.” If one searches for “Wildlife Tours Asia” or “Wildlife Spotting Asia” on Google or Instagram, there are almost no results from GMS. GMS should therefore be better promoted as wildlife tourism destinations and be supported to develop the infrastructure needed to facilitate safe and ecologically sound wildlife tourism.

While model wildlife tourism experiences do exist in GMS, many of the few results that come up when searching for wildlife tourism in GMS present unethical practices with poor animal welfare often conflating captive wildlife management with conservation. Ethical wildlife tourism practices must therefore be promoted and regulations on wildlife welfare in tourism establishments in GMS improved and implemented.

The illegal trade and consumption of wildlife and wildlife parts facilitated by tourists and the tourism industry is a major issue for wildlife conservation. Visitors to GMS and the travel and tourism operators that work in the region need to be better informed about the GMS laws and the negative impacts of their actions; they must commit to being part of the solution to end the trade in wildlife.

The majority of visitor arrivals to GMS are from countries in Asia; therefore to ensure sustainable wildlife tourism practices, it is crucial to focus the promotion of ethical wildlife tourism practices to visitors from key countries in addition to domestic tourists and long haul inbound visitors.