Stay another day in Cambodia

If you have been in Cambodia recently, you may've seen an orange-coloured booklet available at many outlets, such as bars, restaurants and shops. Its title is Stay another day in Cambodia and it lists community projects, NGOs or businesses with a strong social conscience that support poor communities, conserve traditional heritage or cultural assets, or preserve the natural environment for the future. Launched in January, the 84-page booklet features 40 such organizations and socially-conscious businesses.

Sponsored by the International Finance Corporation’s Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (IFC-MPDF) and German Technical Cooperation – GTZ, the tourism products and services featured in the Stay another Day Cambodia booklet include: eco-tours, local cuisine and cooking classes, traditional massage, visits to development projects, orphanages, rehabilitation centers, artisans and the concerts of master musicians, as well as many other interesting activities. Typically the enterprises featured were set up to directly or indirectly benefit disadvantaged people such as abused and abandoned women and children, children who have lost their parents, people with disabilities and communities with high rates of poverty. The goals of Stay another Day are to give tourists an opportunity to learn more about the Cambodia of today and help NGOs and socially responsible enterprises to sustain and expand their worthwhile work by drawing more tourists to them. Benefits are also expected for the locally-owned hotels, guesthouses, tour operators, souvenir sellers etc. who promote Stay another Day activities because tourists who stay longer, spend more.
Link: www.stay-another-day.org. Partners in the website include: Lonely Planet, Climate Care, Sustainable Travel International and worldhotel-link.com.