As Kinyei turns five years old, what better way to celebrate how far we’ve come on our journey to create meaningful community tourism projects in Battambang than to be recognized as a leader in the sustainability and the responsible tourism industry. We are over the moon to share with our friends, long-time supporters, customers and community that Kinyei has been named the winner of the Most Inspiring Responsible Tourism Initiative category by Wild Asia.
Guide Phalla leading through a rice field
Kinyei is an initiative aimed at creating sustainable social change through youth focused social enterprises. Soksabike Tours and Kinyei Cafe, Kinyei’s key enterprises, are sibling businesses in Battambang, Cambodia with the aim of providing meaningful training in hospitality and responsible tourism practices. We’re excited to receive the award for both of these tremendous efforts, but we also wanted to give a shout out to the other finalists in our category EXO Foundation Cambodia and CBT Vietnam, two commendable responsible tourism initiatives worth visit if you have the chance!
Yurie with other Wild Asia Awardees
Our trusty Soksabike Manager, Yurie Nagashima, accepted the award on behalf of Kinyei last week in Bangalore, India. It was also an opportunity to showcase Kinyei’s mission, and Battambang’s unique potential on a world stage. Yurie was also asked to speak alongside Amy McLoughlin of Wild Asia on Social Innovation in Responsible Tourism.
A bit about the Awards: Wild Asia is the first Asia-focused, responsible tourism technical and strategic support partner working to sustainably enhance tourism sectors across South and Southeast Asia. Each year, Wild Asia chooses winners across five categories to showcase as leaders in the industry. Kinyei is joining the ranks of some of the most impressive tourism initiatives out there including Scuba Junkie, a marine conservation partnership in Malaysia, viavia Jogja, an arts, culture, gastronomy and adventure tour operator in Indonesia, and Lisu Lodge, a natural heritage tourism operation in Thailand. We are honored to join a community of conscientious tourism operators.
_A bit about the specifics of Kinyei’s Award: _As the recipient of the Most Inspiring Responsible Tourism Initiative award, we are delighted to be recognized as a champion for grassroots initiatives for responsible tourism in Battambang and in Cambodia. Since Kinyei was conceived of, we’ve been motivated by inclusivity, community narratives, and the power of collaboration. Throughout our projects, from the early days co-creating digital communications solutions with local NGOs through the Profile Project, to helping launch Sammaki a local arts community gallery, to our social impact evaluations with our Soksabike Tour community partners, to sending Sakana off to Singapore to represent Cambodia in the regional barista competition, we have never done anything alone. Our recognition symbolizes the admirable efforts of all of our collaborators and supporters over the years. So, thanks to all of you!
We asked Yurie a few questions about her take on the awards, and, en route to India, she was able to give us some grains of wisdom – we’ll have them up for you to see so check back soon! In the meantime, you can read more in a recent Khmer Times write up about the projects. And for now we just want to say thank you for supporting the Kinyei mission! We couldn’t have done this without the efforts of so many of you. And if you haven’t stopped by for a cycle tour or an award winning cappuccino yet, we’d love to welcome you in!
Kinyei Cafe Team