Due to the global pandemic, many tour operators across the globe  are facing a financial crisis. They are losing tour booking and operations. Their enterprise needs to reduce expenses. Some tour operators have had to make reductions in staff. There are millions of people who work in the tourism industry who have lost their jobs during this pandemic. With this uncertainty situation, some tour operators decide to close their operation for a long term, some tour operators are trying to operate during this pandemic. They are trying to act creatively to these challenges and build a more robust model of local travel. Nowadays, Soksabike is also facing the uncertainty of the pandemic but we are trying to survive with our creative team. Even though we decided to suspend our operation for a period of time in 2020, we reopened our office  again at the end of 2020 and tried to target local travelers. We decided to create a new project under the Soksabike brand, Skual Battambang. This project is another bicycle tour project that is specifically targeted at local travelers. 

It is still not clear yet if the Covid-19 situation will improve in 2022. Even though vaccines have been found and validated by WHO, vaccine demand is still high and the supply of vaccines is not  enough for the world population. Under the sponsorship of Soksabike, Skual Battambang will become another tool of Soksabike to use in this challenging time and to spread more impact of Soksabike’s mission to the local community. This project will also make Soksabike more reliable and sustainable on its journey as a Social Enterprise Tour Operator. 

Our goal is to empower Skual Battambang to promote responsible tourism in the local travel industry  and also to encourage local travelers to become aware of meaningful and experiencing travel while they make a contribution to the community development. Joining Skual Battambang’s tours, the traveler will be able to gain a deeper understanding of Battambang’s history, livelihood and unique points. Throughout our experience as a responsible tour operator, our customers will also be learning about the impact of traveling for the community and the environment. 

Why do we create Skual Battambang? 

In the beginning of 2021, We worked and got through a discussion to ensure that Soksabike would still be a healthy and resilient business during and after this global pandemic. At the end of the discussion, we decided to start a Soksabike’s project called Skual Battambang. 

Even though it is a difficult time, this is also an opportunity for us. We see this as an investment opportunity in the domestic travel market. While international travel has stopped, there are more and more people traveling within the country, especially young people. In this situation Soksabike is launching a new project called Skual Battambang which is a new bicycle tour, specifically designed for local travel. We believe that even when everything goes back to normal, domestic travel will become another target market and opportunity for the tour operators in Cambodia.

This new project is run under the spirit of Soksabike. We put Soksabike’s value in the middle of all new projects and activities to ensure that we are keeping to our objectives, community support through engaging travel experiences. We also have to be sure that our products are sustainable and responsible for the local community. 

Skual Battambang is  

• A responsible bicycle tour that is practicing responsible tourism and promoting authentic engaging experiences for domestic travelers.

• Using tourism as a tool to promote personal growth for our customers.

• A tour operator that cares about the environment and community support by following Soksabike’s impact model for domestic travel.  

Investing in both markets, international and domestic travel will help Soksabike more resilient for the journey of social enterprise in the future.  you can read more about Skual Battambang by clicking here