Reflections on The Long Run’s regional hub meeting 14-17 June 2026
By Natalie van Ogtrop
Sustainability Manager
YAANA Ventures
In mid-June 2026, Cardamom Tented Camp co-organized and hosted The Long Run’s 2026 Asia Pacific regional hub meeting, bringing together conservationists, hoteliers, tour operators, and foundations from across the region.
Attendees included Asia Sustainable Travel, Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, Knai Bang Chatt & Art for Kep, Lost Road, Khiri Travel, Minor Hotels, Nikoi Island & Cempedak Island, Song Saa Private Island, Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge, The Datai Langkawi, The Habitat Foundation.
The gathering explored challenging questions such as how do we move from good intentions to real impact?
While each organisation operates in its own unique environment, many of the issues raised were relatable to all: How do you engage and support your communities in ways that create long-term value? How do you fund your conservation projects and lead a resilient business? How do you know you’re actually making a positive difference?
Rather than spending four days in an urban conference room, attendees spent their time addressing responsible tourism issues in the inspirational open-air setting of Cardamom Tented Camp, overlooking forest, grasslands and river. No one was tweeting. Only the birds.
Each session moved between ideals and experience, theory and practice. Speakers shared, not only successes, but difficult decisions, trade-offs and challenges.
We walked in the forest. We learned about soil health. We visited the surrounding national park’s forest rangers to hear their stories first hand.
We exchanged ideas, admitted frustrations, and discovered that all of us are dealing with similar challenges despite working in different countries.
One recurring theme emerged throughout the meeting: businesses cannot exist in isolation. You need partnerships, communities, persistence, flexibility, good communication – and the support of one another.
The Long Run’s 4Cs: Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce, acknowledges this dynamic implicitly. The 4Cs are not separate forces, but mutually-supportive pillars.
The reality is, ecosystems without conservation will disappear in our modern age. Communities with no culture lose their emotional depth and resilience. Communities with no viable means of income struggle to survive. Commerce that doesn’t respect conservation, community and culture will soon be found out and marginalised. The 4Cs are intertwined and mutually supportive.
Meetings such as The Long Run’s regional hub gathering cannot solve all challenges. But they do strengthen the resolve of people willing to ask difficult questions, to share what works and what doesn’t, and to support each other.
The conclusion: it’s about the journey as much as the destination.
Cardamom Tented Camp has been a proactive member of The Long Run since 2024. It’s only been a short time. But like them, we are in it for the long run.