G Adventures celebrates community tourism at GX Cambodia; announces Brazil is next

After a week travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap for “a joyous celebration of the power of tourism,” G Adventures’ Bruce Poon Tip hopes that the 600 participants on location for GX Cambodia understand firsthand how travel has the power to change lives for the better.

“The idea of GX is to be a lot of fun, a lot of connections, but also for people to see community tourism in action — to see how travel can be this transformational industry that, in general, I think the travel industry misses every day,” he said taking the stage for the GX World Community Tourism Summit in Siem Reap on Sept. 27. “We sell an emotional product to customers, and the travel industry has a chance to be transformational. For years, the transformation has been focused on just the customer paying for that experience and delivering amenities. But travel can be transformational for everyone, and you guys have seen that by being here. We’ve had a great impact on this country, and there’s a lot of people that have benefited because you’ve decided to come to Cambodia at GX today. Over the past four days we’ve really seen the power of global community together to change perceptions.”

While a big announcement during the Summit was the reveal that next year’s GX will take place in Brazil, Poon Tip kept the spotlight on Cambodia, adding that their goal is to make the country a destination in its own right  — not just a stopover for Thailand or Vietnam.

“Cambodia is a destination that has been significantly impacted by the challenges facing tourism in recent years. We knew that bringing our community here could do more than simply bring people together for a week. It could shine a light on this incredible country, create connections, support local communities through travel and hopefully inspire more people to come and experience Cambodia for themselves. Your job is to sell, promote and talk about Cambodia when you get home,” he noted. “There’s much here, it’s so rich in history, culture, food, and music. Angkor Wat is of course an iconic destination but that’s the anchor of a beautiful country that’s not nearly as explored [as it should be]. G Adventures is committed to help bring more and more tourism here and help open Cambodia to the world.”

In addition to taking in top attractions like the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Sambor Prei Kuk and Angkor Wat, the experience highlighted some of the many local social enterprises that are befitting from tourism and how communities are being uplifted because of travel.

For example women drivers from the Planeterra-supported Lady Tuk Tuk Driver transported some of the group from their hotel to catch the sunrise over the notable temple complex.

Founder Kim Sokleang, the first registered female tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, revealed that the company has grown from one to over 50 drivers since launching in 2013. Not only do they empower female drivers in a traditionally male-dominated field, the women become financially independent.

“Maybe when you do a trip like this you remember the special power that travel does have,” said Poon Tip. “There are so few people in the world who get to say every day: I want to go on vacation, and with that privilege comes great responsibility, and you have the opportunity to transform lives. So the power of this community is what came together this week, I’m grateful again on our shared purpose.”

Notably, a key part of the attendees are travel advisors from around the world who earned their spot to attend GX by being top sellers. One of 15 Change Makers from Canada is Tracy Langdon, an independent agent with Soul Travel from St. John’s, Newfoundland, who earned her spot at all four GXs.

“My main clientele primarily is between the age of 45 and 75, but the one thing that everybody has in common is that they want to travel differently, and they want to do it as a community. They want to find their people and their like-minded adventures, and the desire to have meaningful, purposeful, immersive cultural experiences is a common trend right now, and it’s something that people are craving,” she noted. “And I also think that a big draw for my clientele, most especially in Canada, is that G Adventures is a Canadian-based tour company, and that it has been a huge draw.”

National Geographic Signature with G Adventures takes off

During the Summit, Ben Perlo, CEO of G Adventures, took to the stage to talk about the success of National Geographic Signature with G Adventures.

“Last year, I stood on this stage and I announced our biggest news, I would say, in our 35-year history. After a decade of collaboration with National Geographic, launching and operating our hugely successful National Geographic Journeys and Family Journeys products, a new adventure awaited — our first venture into the luxury travel space, National Geographic Signature,” he shared. “When we launched Signature, we weren’t simply looking to create another luxury travel product, we wanted to change the face of high-end travel. Luxury, as the world tradition knows it, has often been about the hotel, the suite, the thread count, the service. But we believed there was an opportunity to go much deeper, to bring community tourism into the hearts of luxury travel, and to combine G Adventures’ more than 35 years of leadership in community tourism with National Geographic’s incredible legacy of exploration, science, and education.”

With 66 new trips, over 500 departures across 48 destinations from Peru to Costa Rica to Palau to Vietnam, Perlo noted that the response has been incredible.

“In fact, I’m so incredibly proud to say that Signature now is the most successful travel style launch in the history of the adventures. And that tells us something. We always believe there was a gap in the market for a more meaningful luxury travel experience, and the response from travellers is showing that’s exactly what they’re looking for… they want their travel to have a positive impact on the places that the visit.”

Takeaways from the GX World Community Tourism Summit

Along with panel discussions, a live on-stage podcast recording of Travel Trends with Dan Christian and remarks from Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism Huot Hak and Siem Reap Governor Prak Sophoan, the Summit saw Judy Kepher Gona named the newest member of G Adventures’ Global Ambassador Program, alongside inaugural ambassadors Tony Wheeler, Delfin Pauchi Uhigua and the late Dr. Jane Goodall.

G Adventures also announced the launch of How to Travel Your Heart Out, a practical guide encouraging travellers to turn small choices into positive impact for people, communities, wildlife and the planet.

Through Trees for Days, there have been over 6.7 million trees grown on behalf of G Adventures travellers, supporting community-led climate action around the world.

Planeterra also unveiled its new Community Positive Framework, designed to create a practical, community-informed way to define, measure and improve tourism’s impact. The initiative will bring together community tourism enterprises, global experts and travel companies to explore what positive tourism impact actually looks like from the perspective of the communities experiencing it.

“There is currently no agreed global standard for defining or verifying what positive community impact from tourism actually means,” shared Jamie Sweeting, president of Planeterra. “If we want tourism to genuinely benefit communities, we need to understand what communities themselves define as positive, and have practical ways to measure whether we are delivering it.”

Poon Tip’s upcoming book, Communityship: Lessons from the Universe and the Business of Everyone, which scheduled for release in Canada and the United States on Nov. 24, will go towards supporting the G Values Fund, which helps Chief Experience Officers who are ready to transition off the road with low-interest microloans to help them turn their business dreams into reality.

The festivities concluded with a special purple party at Angkor Thom overlooking Bayon Temple and before it was off to The Labyrinth for the GX afterparty where DJ Earworm played a variety of hits from the last 36 years to mark G Adventures’ 36-year history.