Cardamom Tented Camp in Cambodia Earns Green Destinations’ Top 100 Global Accolade for 2021

Cardamom Tented Camp ecolodge in Cambodia has been announced by Green Destinations as one of the 2021 Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories in the world.

The announcement was made 5 October in the online annual conference of Green Destinations, a non-profit organisation for sustainable tourism, based in The Netherlands. The annual programme has been in existence since 2014.

Cardamom Tented Camp was chosen by the judges among 28 tourism experiences around the world in the Nature and Ecotourism category. The other 72 winners were in the categories of Localisation and Decarbonising the Local Supply Chain; Communities and Culture; Environment and Climate; and Tourism Reset and Recovery.

“Since Cardamom Tented Camp opened in 2017 we’ve helped protect 18,000 hectares of forest by channelling income from the camp to support 12 forest rangers who have done a terrific job of reducing illegal logging, wildlife hunting and sandbank dredging,” said Willem Niemeijer, CEO of YAANA Ventures, the camp operator.

“Right from day one our slogan has been, ‘Your Stay Keeps the Forest Standing’. The Green Destination judges saw those details of our work. They recognised that our sustainability story as a world-class and inspirational conservation tourism project could be emulated in other places,” he said.

In an earlier Q&A session for the online conference on 5 October, Niemeijer told Green Destination online conference attendees that Cardamom Tented Camp was based on three principles: a belief in visitor dispersion to off-the-beaten-track places away from over-touristed hubs; a commitment to work with experts, such as NGO Wildlife Alliance; and a full-hearted belief in the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, which had to be unwavering if the project was going to be truly sustainable, said Niemeijer.

In an official statement announcing the Top 100, Green Destinations said: “With the tourism sector facing very challenging times in the past year or so, the resilience and hard work of these destinations to become more responsible should be celebrated. The 2021 selection was determined by the quality, transferability, and, more than ever, by the level of innovation of the stories.”

Albert Salman, the President of Green Destinations told the audience that the objective of the top 100 sustainability stories programme was to “inspire responsible tourism leadership around the world”.

The full Green Destinations’ list of Top 100 Sustainability Stories for 2021 can be viewed here.

Further information on Cardamom Tented Camp, including its back story, its other awards and guest experiences, is available here.

MeTAG Wildlife Tourism & Conservation Promotional Event on August 30, 2021
Thank you to the MeTAG Wildlife Tourism & Conservation Expert Group for such great and valuable efforts putting together the webinar promoting the best practices and ethical, conservation-minded wildlife tourism in GMS organized by Destination Mekong
 
It was a productive session having our 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases Finalists Wildlife Alliance, ອຸທິຍານແຫ່ງຊາດນໍ້າແອດ-ພູເລີຍ Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park as well as GTAEF Helping Elephants, our Experience Mekong Collection member joined and presented their inspiring stories.
 
For anyone who missed the session, the recording is available here https://youtu.be/2BJOK73iqzw
 
Please also cast your vote for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases if you haven’t done so. Today is the last chance to support small responsible businesses in the Mekong Region.
 

Watch a recording of the event here:

Finalists for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases announced

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Finalists for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases announced
Public Voting is open to support small responsible businesses during these challenging times

Bangkok, July 27th, 2021:  The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office is announcing the 15 Finalists of the Experience Mekong Showcases 2021 from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand Viet Nam, as well as Guangxi and Yunnan in PR China.  Finalists from Myanmar this year will be judged differently via an industry panel made up of relevant Mekong Tourism Advisory Group members.  Three thousand eligible votes determined three Experience Mekong Collection members from each of the five participating countries this year for the next round of voting for this prestigious recognition. Now open for a public vote until August 31st, the six Experience Mekong Showcases will be announced at the 2021 Destination Mekong Summit later on this year. To cast your vote, please visit https://www.destinationmekong.com/experience-mekong-showcases2021-voting/

The 15 finalists – 3 from each of 5 member countries of the Mekong Region are:

Note: Myanmar businesses will be judged separately by an expert panel made up of members of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG).

The Experience Mekong Collection was created four years ago to recognize and encourage sustainable and responsible tourism development in the Greater Mekong Subregion.  

To be appointed as a member of the Experience Mekong Collection, all small travel businesses in the Mekong Region need to fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Make a significant social impact on its community
  2. Provide an authentically local experience positioning the GMS as a responsible, inclusive, and experiential tourism destination.
  3. Have an innovative concept and sustainable business model.

Members of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG) selected the 60 shortlisted Experience Mekong Collection (EMC) member businesses – twelve from five member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion from the 300+ members of the Experience Mekong Collection.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the currently active businesses – defined as businesses in communication with us, which is a requirement to be included in the Experience Mekong Showcases program – are currently at nearly 150 businesses.

“Alliances like the Experience Mekong Collection are more important than ever, especially in crises such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen resilience both at the destination level, as well as for the individual businesses themselves, via sharing of best practices, networking, cross-promotional activities, and creating operational efficiencies”, says Mr. Jens Thraenhart, outgoing Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, and initiator of the Experience Mekong Collection, operated as part of the private-sector-led regional tourism board Destination Mekong. “I am convinced that the Experience Mekong Collection will help accelerate tourism recovery in the region, as well as protect and conserve these locally authentic experiences, which are the treasure trove of the Mekong region.”

“In recognizing the most innovative best practice businesses as the Experience Mekong Showcases, this sets several benchmarks to further improve travel experiences in the Greater Mekong Subregion. As consumer trends and travel behaviors are changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope this inspires other operators of any size to become involved in responsible and inclusive tourism,” said Mr. Willem Niemeijer, Founder & CEO of Yaana Ventures and current interim Chairman of Destination Mekong.

The 2018 Experience Mekong Collection Showcases included Phare Cambodian Circus (Cambodia), Longji Rice Terraces Guangxi (PR China), Ock Pop Tok (Lao PDR), Inle Heritage Place (Myanmar), Local Alike (Thailand), and Koto (Viet Nam). The 2019 Experience Mekong Collection Showcases included Soksabike (Cambodia), Linden Centre (PR China), Elephant Conservation Centre (Lao PDR), Hla Day (Myanmar), Sampran Riverside (Thailand), and Streets International (Viet Nam). The 2020 Experience Mekong Collection showcase include the Elephant Valley Project (Cambodia), Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (PR China), Laos Buffalo Dairy (Lao PDR), Living Irravaddy Dolphin Project (Myanmar), The Family Tree (Thailand), and Journey of the Senses (Viet Nam). Please see: https://www.destinationmekong.com/initiatives/experience-mekong-showcases/

All members of the Experience Mekong Collection get exposure via Mekong Tourism and Destination Mekong, including MekongTourism.org, DestinationMekong.com, ExperienceMekong.com, and the dedicated Experience Mekong Collection Facebook and Instagram accounts. Experience Mekong Collection members also have priority access to marketing campaigns and have their own dedicated online member-only community to connect with each other.

To help struggling members of the Experience Mekong Collection survive these challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic, a support page has been created at https://www.destinationmekong.com/projects/support-experience-mekong-collection-members/ to list businesses asking for donations or selling gift certificates. Please support these small businesses by visiting: For more information about the Experience Mekong Collection and its members, please visit www.experiencemekongcollection.com.

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Support us by publishing the voting banner:

Link to: https://www.destinationmekong.com/experience-mekong-showcases2021-voting/

 

About the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office:

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), located in Bangkok, and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, was set up with funding from the governments of the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries – Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The MTCO, which operates on annual financial contributions from each GMS country, acts as the secretariat for the GMS Tourism Working Group, comprising of senior officials of the six GMS countries’ National Tourism Organizations, to coordinate and facilitate sustainable tourism development of the GMS, and promotion of the Mekong region as a single travel and tourism destination, in collaboration with the public and private sectors. The MTCO manages its award-winning MekongTourism.org digital platform as a one-stop platform to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in the region, as well as the annual Mekong Tourism Forum, whose hosting is rotated among GMS countries.

Please visit www.MekongTourism.org for more information.

 

About Destination Mekong:

Destination Mekong, located in Phnom Penh, and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, to promote the Lancang-Mekong region, comprising of Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam as a single tourism destination to stimulate responsible and sustainable development and investment, and drive inclusive growth. Aligned to the mandate of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, the tourism secretariat of the six-member governments of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Destination Mekong executes targeted projects and initiatives, including Mekong Moments, Mekong Mini Movie Festival, Mekong Innovations in Sustainable Tourism (MIST), Experience Mekong Collection, Mekong Heroes, and Mekong Trends, the Destination Mekong Summit, with feedback from the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG).  

More information at: www.DestinationMekong.com

Mekong Tourism Collaboration

Tourism in the Mekong Region is steered collaboratively by a public-private framework between the public and private sectors.

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, which is the secretariat of the Tourism Working Group, and Destination Mekong, which is the destination marketing organization led by private sector partners, are both managing initiatives aligned to the GMS Tourism Strategy to create a sustainable and inclusive environment to support businesses and communities in the Mekong Region and provide benefits for all stakeholders – residents, travelers, and businesses.

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Destination Mekong organized the Experience Mekong Collection Members Meeting on June 17, 2021
On June 17, It was a great and interactive call with our Experience Mekong Collection members organized by Destination Mekong. Happy to see how active and engaged our members getting together, especially in these challenging times.
 
There are many productive discussions among members and how the Experience Mekong Collection program can stimulate and support members to prepare for tourism recovery once the borders reopen.
 
Looking forward to fruitful cooperation and seeing all members in the next calls!

Sampran Riverside

Located on a 70-acre plot along the Tha Chin River,
Sampran Riverside (formerly known as the Rose Garden)
is a family-run eco cultural destination; now famous for its
wide range of sustainable initiatives and its sustainable
business model.

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The Linden Centre

Floating above the pristine rice and canola fields north of
the old town of Dali is a beautiful courtyard compound
built in 1947 by a wealthy entrepreneur from the Bai ethnic
group named Yang Pinxiang. Over seven decades, the
building, which is located in the historic Xizhou Village,
went through many changes, from being privately owned
to becoming public property after the Cultural Revolution
and land reforms, and from serving as an army barracks
and military hospital to housing a kindergarten. In 2001, it
was designated as a national heritage site. The courtyard
finely captures the exquisite architectural style of the Bai
ethnic group that predominantly lives in the area. This
compound is now a boutique hotel managed and run by
an American couple, Brian and Jeanee Linden, who have
injected new life and respect into this important heritage
site.

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