Discover What PEPY Means

Responsible Tourism Statement

PEPY Tours is committed to crafting experiences that foster appreciation and conservation of Cambodian communities. PEPY Tours strives to ensure that every element of the organization conforms to a responsible tourism policy that includes actions such as using filtered water rather than bottled water on trips, using responsible local businesses for all available tour services, and reducing the ecological footprint of our office. PEPY Tours continually monitors the social, economic and environmental impact of operations. Furthermore, PEPY Tours insists that business partners meet high environmental and social standards, and that where necessary, they receive training to improve their understanding of such issues. PEPY Tours endeavors to set the standard for responsible tourism operations, promoting travel that is eco-friendly, sustainable and contributes to local development.

PEPY Tours has a two part fee structure which goes along with the motto, “Adventurous Living. Responsible Giving.” To cover the costs of the adventure, participants pay a tour fee. In addition to the cost of their tour, participants are required to raise a minimum of $500 for PEPY Tours’ partner non-profits. These funds are used to support projects which the participants visit on their tour.

These tours have helped raise over $500,000 for development projects in Cambodia since the first tour in December 2005. PEPY Tours is committed to researching and qualifying responsible development projects and following up on these donations to help ensure maximum impact for the communities and programs they are supporting.

Our Policies:

Supporting Local Economic Development

• PEPY Tours works to ensure that all tourism services have the maximum positive local economic benefits to the host community.
• Through a partnership with Responsible Nomad, PEPY Tours identifies, interviews and certifies both local and foreign-owned responsible businesses throughout Cambodia. PEPY Tours only uses these establishments for services related to daily operations and tours.
• PEPY Tours participants are offered rooms in local guesthouses and, in the case of larger hotels, operations using their funds for direct aid to development initiatives.
• PEPY Tours uses local guides and only locally-owned tour operators.
• PEPY Tours uses buses, cars, and pickup trucks owned and operated by local drivers or companies.
• PEPY Tours uses locally-run, certified responsible foreign-owned restaurants, or social ventures (i.e. Friends Restaurant, a hospitality training program for former street children) for all meals.
• PEPY Tours strives to build local capacity for employees by providing scholarships for those pursuing higher education and providing funding for training, classes, and seminars.

Minimizing Our Negative Environmental Impact

• PEPY Tours regularly monitors its impact on sites, cultures and the environment.
• PEPY Tours strives to minimize its environmental footprint both on tours and in the office. For example, PEPY Tours uses water filtration systems rather than plastic water bottles, bans the use of Styrofoam containers for tour and office use, strongly encourages bicycle transportation and actively tries to reduce the usage of office electricity for example by barring the use of air conditioning.
• PEPY Tours focuses on minimizing its carbon foot print and offsets all remaining tour carbon emissions through local partner environmental NGOs, such as Geres. Examples of past offsetting activities include tree planting in deforested areas and funding for clean-burning stove initiatives.
• PEPY Tours endeavors to change the environmental landscape in Cambodia by actively supporting recycle centers and discouraging the use of Styrofoam and other harmful materials used by many restaurants through educational and outreach campaigns.

Supporting Innovative, Sustainable, and Responsible Development Organizations

• 100% of the donation component of the trip fee directly supports partner projects that PEPY Tours participants visit and/or volunteer with, inclduing The PEPY Ride.
• All profits from PEPY Tours which are not reinvested in the venture are used to cover administrative expenses of The PEPY Ride as well as pay some PEPY Ride foreign staff and volunteer costs.  In this way the impact of donations to the non-profit can be maximized.
• PEPY Tours only partners with organizations and funds projects that meet its' impact, sustainability and transparency standards.
• Partner relationships are long-term; participants' donations do not contribute to one-off projects but to on-going sustainable programs.
• PEPY Tours holds partners accountable by constantly monitoring funded projects, ensuring that donations are used efficiently and effectively.  Learn more about projects funded by PEPY Tours' participants below or here.
• PEPY Tours is dedicated to the presrvation of Cambodia's cultural heritage and supports the work of Heritage Watch.  PEPY promotes heritage friendly tourism through funding Heritage Watch, as well as educating PEPY Tours' participants on responsible practices when visiting sites of cultural importance and purchasing local products.

Crafting Responsible Volunteer Experiences

• All PEPY Tours’ volunteer activities have been carefully developed in partnership with development organizations and the communities directly impacted. PEPY Tours has relationships with partner organizations that extend beyond one-off visits and involves funding, promoting, learning from and working with these partners on a long-term basis.
• PEPY Tours staff members personally visit volunteer sights before and after trips to ensure the impact is understood, that development ideas are culturally appropriate and created from community input, and that the actual impact is in line with expectations.
• Rather than having one-way volunteer trips, PEPY Tours works to ensure that these trips offer local communities the opportunity to engage with trip participants. PEPY attempts to facilitate an educational process that encourages volunteers to recognize that they are gaining and much as they are giving.
• Short-term volunteer activities are designed to further the impact of long-term, sustainable projects. Volunteer activities are a way to see development in progress and give a short-term contribution; participants’ donations ensure long term sustainability, constant monitoring, and successful implementation.
• PEPY Tours purposely limits the number of trips to specific projects (i.e. The PEPY Ride School) to minimize negative effects of repeat visits on local communities.
• PEPY Tours is a ChildSafe business and respects child rights as stated in the ChildSafe regulations (in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). No abuse, in any form, towards children will be tolerated by PEPY Tours.

Educating and Inspiring Participants

• PEPY Tours enriches participant experience by providing articles and information about current and historical events, development issues, cultural issues, and responsible tourism. Discussions on these topics are facilitated by PEPY Tours staff and volunteers regularly, throughout the tours.
• Participants on PEPY Tours adventures are asked to participate in “Camera-Free Days” where they leave their camera in its case and experience a place and its people without the barrier of a camera lens.
• Trip orientation highlights ways to respect the people and culture of Cambodia and includes local dos and don’ts.
• Each tour is lead or co-lead by trained guides with a background in development and strong knowledge of the country.
• PEPY Tours aims to inspire participants to affect change not only in Cambodia, but also in their home communities.
• Our online community gives past participants the ability to stay in touch, discuss development issues, join the PEPY Book Club, and stay involved with The PEPY Ride’s initiatives.
• After trips, many participants have applied for an internship at PEPY Tours or The PEPY Ride. PEPY Tours invites individuals to take advantage of this opportunity to stay involved with the projects they are funding and help direct the future of PEPY.