Cambodia country tour, temples & sea

Planet

As with all our vacations, the accommodation you will stay at has been chosen to meet at least our basic responsible criteria, which includes putting in place measures to conserve energy and reduce water usage. The exact mix depends on the individual hotel, but some initiatives we look for are solar heating and lighting, using energy-efficient lightbulbs, treating waste water and recycling paper, glass, plastic and food waste. We also try to particularly promote hotels that go even further to be as sustainable as possible.

Our hotels provide advice on how you can reduce your own environmental footprint while you’re in Cambodia, for example by switching off air conditioning and lights when not in your room and reusing your towels and plastic water bottles. All the places you stay at buy their food locally, cutting down transport emissions and helping local farmers and some even grow their own organic food on site.

Before your trip, we will also send you information on some of the biggest environmental challenges facing Cambodia, as well as our advice about how you can make your stay as green as possible. You can always ask your guide too - we have chosen our Cambodian partner because they share our strong commitment to protecting the environment so if they don’t know the answer immediately they can always find out.

People

It is essential for us that our vacations help to create sustainable jobs and livelihoods for Cambodian people. For example, at Angkor Wat you will be accompanied by a trained and licensed guide who lives in Siem Reap – guiding is an important source of income for the local economy. In line with our ethical policy, all the places you will stay at are locally-owned or responsibly-run and we ask that hotels employ people from the area in management positions and give them training. In addition, all our hotels must at least raise funds for local charities and projects.

Again, we particularly promote hotels and other accommodation that go that bit further to support local people. There are some outstanding examples of socially-responsible hotels in Cambodia, such as Song Saa and Soria Moria which have been shortlisted for Responsible Travel Awards in recent years.

Another of our key principles is that we support organisations that use tourism to generate tangible social benefits. For example, you can have lunch at the Sala Bai restaurant, which trains some of the most deprived children in the country in hospitality trades like cooking and table service. You can also choose to take a tour of Phnom Penh with drivers from the Cyclo Centre, an organisation which helps destitute rickshaw drivers to get work. This means that you are helping disadvantaged Cambodian people directly just by enjoying your vacation.