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Support Experience Mekong Collection Members

Dear Traveler, Partner, Resident, and Friend of the Mekong Region:

Experience Mekong Collection members provide these locally authentic experiences to travelers and residents alike, which make the Mekong Region so exciting and interesting. Connecting with local culture and its people is the foundation of the Experience Mekong brand. 

Now these experiences are in danger of not surviving these difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses are struggling to pay their employees, and cover their expenses. 

We all have a duty and a responsibility to now help these operators, for the better of sustainable and responsible tourism of the region for the short-term and the long-term. At Mekong Tourism, we believe that the Experience Mekong Collection protects and promotes inclusive tourism, and as such has been recognized as a global best practice of tourism promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

In order to help our Experience Mekong Collection members in these challenging, we are listing any businesses that are asking for donations. We are asking everybody to support these small responsible travel businesses, which we recognize as our shining lights of the Mekong Region. Let’s all come together to make sure that these lights will continue to shine for many years to come.

Thank you!

Phare Ponleu Selpak

Phare Ponleu Selpak is a non-profit Cambodian association improving the lives of children, young adults, and their families with art schools, educational programs, and social support since 1994. They seek to provide education, access to the arts, vocational training, and professional pathways to the children and young adults of the community.

Elephant Valley Project

Elephant Valley Project has worked hard to develop the best sanctuary for captive elephants in Cambodia and support local people to be able to access stable jobs with opportunities to grow. The purpose of the project is to improve the health and welfare of the captive elephants in Mondulkiri Province and work to conserve the wild elephants’ natural habitat while supporting the local community to protect their forest and nature.

Cardamom Tented Camp

The Cardamom Tented Camp is therefore a pioneering and responsible Eco-Tourism provider, committed to supporting the conservational efforts of Wildlife Alliance in cooperation with the local community, with a mandate to sustain and prosper the rich prevailing biodiversity of the area.

Cambodia Living Arts (CLA)

CLA implements a series of programs with the intention of creating a self-sustaining environment where individuals and communities can be empowered through the arts. Founded in 1998 by musician and genocide survivor Arn Chorn-Pond, CLA’s Community Arts program offers Cambodians the opportunity to learn the country’s traditional arts, while it is Capacity Building program assists motivated students in receiving training to improve their skills as arts professionals.

Le Tonlé

Le Tonlé Tourism Training Center is a not-for-profit training guest house providing vocational training to disadvantaged youth from Cambodia’s north-eastern provinces of Kratie, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri. The guest house and restaurant in Kratie provide essential training and a unique opportunity for travellers to support skills development in Cambodia.

Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel

The Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel mission is to be the leading independent boutique hotel in Siem Reap creating rewarding and memorable cultural experiences for our valued guests. The hotel dedicated to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact in Siem Reap and Cambodia.

EGBOK (Spoons Cafe)

EGBOK provided supplemental classes, housing, job and financial support to young disadvantaged Cambodians studying at other hospitality schools in Siem Reap. Spoons café is the main sources of funding for EGBOK serving as a training facility and multipurpose space for EGBOK students to gain hands-on experience while providing guests with authentic Cambodian cuisine and hospitality.

Friends International

Friends-International was born on the streets of Phnom Penh in August 1994. Friends is a social enterprise saving lives and building futures of marginalized children, youth, their families and communities across Southeast Asia. One of their programs provides vocational training in cooking and hospitality through seven restaurants in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as matching marginalized youths with opportunities in the tourism sector.

Articles about the Experience Mekong Collection