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Man with a mission
Bangkok Post, December 27, 2001
Swiss-born adventurer goes to the ends
of the earth for his clients
THANIN WEERADET
Ask the boss of Asian Trails what he goes
for in an adventure holiday and you'll have a fair idea what
his travel company has to offer.
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| Luzi
Matzig, of Asian Trails, explores new lands to broaden
his horizons and keep tourists on their toes.
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Luzi Matzig is no stranger to tourism in the
region and _ despite many years of exploring Thailand, Indochina
and beyond _ his adventurous spirit is still as keen as ever.
The 52-year-old Swiss-born tour operator recalls his first
adventure in his home town, where many Swiss children had
a passion for mountains.
``I wanted to climb mountains. The higher and more difficult
the better,'' Mr Matzig said. And he admitted it was hard
to say goodbye to the Swiss mountains when he moved to Thailand.
After years of working in Zurich for Swiss Air, Mr Matzig
longed for a change and answered a newspaper ad about a job
in Bangkok.
``Working far away from home for two or three years is fine,''
he thought. But three years became six and ten and pretty
soon he realised he was stuck here.
He doesn't miss the mountains so much anymore and often gets
away to explore nearby pistes. Last month he went to Tibet.
``I'm always looking for something unusual and new,'' he said,
describing himself as a tour operator with an adventurous
spirit. New products make the company more attractive, he
said.
One of Mr Matzig's favourite pastimes is flying light aircraft,
because it allows him a unique overview of the world. He has
done two around-the-world trips and shorter excursions in
every corner of the world. He believes flying offers an unparalleled
experience, which tourists will also get a kick out of.
``We also operate upmarket packages for those who want a private
plane and go golfing in Vietnam or fly around Indochina for
a week or two.''
Flying gives you a better opportunity to see the world but
overland tours enhance your visibility at closer range. Flying
is relatively easy to do but on some routes it is exploring
on the road, he said.
``The Kunming to Tibet route was closed to foreigners until
recently,'' he said. ``When our office in Yunnan got approval
from the Chinese, we explored the area and studied plans for
future trips.''
He said Asian Trails is now ready to sell the region as an
adventure tour.
The route is very flexible and tourists can take shorter or
longer trips.
The Yunnan-Tibet route is intended for adventurous middle-aged
travellers, because many younger people cannot afford the
20-day package.
Next year, Mr Matzig plans a similar trip to Mongolia. Tourists
will be able to take a train from Beijing to Ulan Bataar and
begin their four-wheel-drive and horse riding adventure.
But what's the fascination with China?
``We've done everything in Thailand. China is one of the last
places on earth where there is not much tourism. You can drive
for days and not find tourists,'' he said.
Mr Matzig has a simple philosophy about scouting routes for
his clients. He does it for fun _ if he likes it, the average
tourist will like it.
During his years at Diethelm Travel, he was used to developing
tourism in inaccessible places in Indochina. Now he does the
same thing for Asian Trails.
``When you look at a world map, there are many places you
have not been to. Mongolia, China, Indonesia But this may
not be the best time to go to Indonesia,''
Tourists are excited about new products. The company is popular
because it sticks to simple, cheap packages. Mr Matzig does
not need high volume in selling new routes. ``I will be happy
if 20 people buy this new package.''
Adventurous packages aside, mainstream products are still
the company's bread a butter, he said
Apart from overland trip by car, he is also keen on boat tours.
The company will soon offer cruises on the Chao Phraya river
and already runs a boat tour from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh
City.
Laos also offers new possibilities for the future. There are
many unexplored places like the Hongsa area, he says, and
Thailand can always be used as a base for self-drive packages.
Burma will also be a popular destination in the future and
will offer many possibilities when tourists are more comfortable
with the political situation.
When Mr Matzig first started tour operations years ago, tourists
only heard of Bangkok and Pattaya. Nobody ever ventured north
because they were afraid of communists in the Khao Khor area.
He explored the Kingdom on a motorcycle and scouted out many
remote destinations for tourists.
But everything has been done now, he said, it's time to find
other places in other parts of the world.
He has tried other modes of transport too, like ballooning.
Ballooning is not easy in Thailand but he has organised ballooning
trips in Burma, where the activity can be done five months
a year, particularly in winter.
One area of tourism which definitely could be improved upon
is the self-drive sector, he says. It's impossible to arrange
cars in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam or China _ but Asian Trails
is working on it, he says.
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