G Adventures has wrapped its fourth annual GX World Community Tourism Summit in Cambodia, unveiling a string of new community tourism initiatives and milestones.
Along for the celebration and innovation were 13 of G Adventures’ top-selling Australian and New Zealand advisors who were joined by close to 600 global G community members to explore the power of travel to create meaningful, lasting change.
The lead-up to the World Tourism Day event saw travel advisors, suppliers, media, content creators, travellers, industry leaders and G Adventures staff travel across Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to witness the impact of community tourism initiatives firsthand.
Major announcements
Among the major announcements was the launch of Planeterra’s Community Positive Framework, a new initiative designed to create a practical, community-informed approach to defining, measuring and improving tourism’s impact.
G Adventures also launched How to Travel Your Heart Out, a new guide encouraging travellers to make small choices that can create positive outcomes for people, communities, wildlife and the planet.
G Adventures is also set to get more social with the company previewing Bazaar, a digital platform centred around the growing trend of micro-community travel. Set to launch in 2027 the platform will allow travellers to discover their people first and then join a small-group trip built around that shared connection.
The summit also revealed that 160 community tourism enterprises have now been incorporated into G Adventures itineraries through Project 300, putting the initiative more than halfway towards its goal of reaching 300 by 2030.
Meanwhile, Trees for Days has surpassed 6.7 million trees grown on behalf of G Adventures travellers, supporting community-led climate action around the world.
The company also expanded its Global Ambassador Programme, welcoming sustainable tourism pioneer Judy Kepher Gona.
With founder Bruce Poon Tip revealing that the next GX World Community Tourism Summit will take place in Brazil in September 2027.
Empowering communities
Despite the risks involved with pivoting from Morocco as host country in February 2026, G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip said that bringing the global G community to Cambodia was the right decision.
“Cambodia is a destination that has been significantly impacted by the challenges facing tourism in recent years,” Poon Tip said.
“We knew that bringing our community here could do more than simply bring people together. It could shine a light on this incredible country, create connections, support local communities and hopefully inspire more people to come and experience Cambodia for themselves.”
The World Community Tourism Summit was held yesterday, 27 September, coinciding with UN World Tourism Day, and featured thought leadership sessions, keynotes, live performances and conversations around the future of responsible travel.
Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism, His Excellency Huot Hak, and Siem Reap Governor His Excellency Prak Sophoan welcomed attendees, highlighting the impact of the event and the need to bolster a resilient and sustainable tourism sector in Cambodia.
“GX Summit 2026 is more than a meeting of tourism businesses. It is an opportunity to exchange ideas, build trust and shape partnerships that can make tourism more responsible, more resilient and more beneficial to people and destinations,” Huot Hak said.
Measuring ‘positive’ tourism
Planeterra’s new Community Positive Framework was one of the key developments announced during the summit.
The initiative will unite community tourism enterprises, global experts and travel companies to establish what positive tourism impact 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,” Planeterra president Jamie Sweeting said.
“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.”
G Adventures, G Touring and TruTravels have joined the initiative as founding industry partners and supporters.
The voices shaping the future of tourism
Attendees heard from voices across the travel industry, community tourism and social enterprise, with the program designed to look beyond tourism’s traditional measures of success and examine how travel can create tangible benefits for local people.
Sustainable tourism leader Judy Kepher Gona, founder and executive director of Sustainable Travel and Tourism Africa, returned to GX to speak about the power and importance of listening. Her session focused on the role of meaningful dialogue in creating tourism that works with, rather than simply for, local communities.
Khadija Amahal, an Indigenous Amazigh community member and National Geographic Expedition Expert, brought another perspective to the summit through a keynote on community, connection and why storytelling matters.
The program also put Cambodian changemakers firmly at the centre of the conversation. A local changemakers session featured figures including Maulita (Lita) Sari Hani of Planeterra, Soth Sour of New Hope, Kim Sokleang, founder of Tuk-Tuk Lady, and Krouch Sodany, deputy community leader at Sambor Prei Kuk. Their work spans women’s economic empowerment, youth opportunity, community education, local guiding and cultural heritage – providing a direct look at how tourism can support communities on the ground.
Other sessions broadened the conversation around responsible travel. Nina Karnikowski, Australian travel writer and author, joined G Adventures for How to Travel Your Heart Out, examining how travellers can make better choices without sacrificing the joy and adventure of travel.
A Changing Lives with Project 300 session featured community tourism practitioners from South Africa and Spain, looking at how locally led initiatives can use tourism to address unemployment, food insecurity, social inclusion and economic opportunity.
Looking to the next GX
As GX Cambodia drew to a close, G Adventures confirmed the global community will reconvene in Brazil in September 2027.
“GX is a perfect example of communityship in action,” Poon Tip said.
“Our agents, suppliers, staff, media, content creator friends and travellers all come together to celebrate, learn and see first-hand the power of tourism done right.”
All photos: G Adventures, Lucas Kschischang
