Spotlight on our key team members. Meet, Sophea Chan, our Senior Travel Designer in Khiri Travel Cambodia.
Q: Please introduce yourself to our partners
My name is Sophea Chan. I am Senior Travel Designer at Khiri Travel Cambodia since February 2016.
Q: How long have you been working in the tourism industry, and what got you inspired to join?
I have been working in the tourism industry for 10 years. What inspired me to join, I love traveling, yet the exciting thing about my job is being able to create and personalize the holiday for our customers so that they can have the best experience in their dream place. I also enjoy listening to people sharing their traveling experiences, what they have met, how amazing the place they have visited…
Q: Why Khiri Travel?
I love what I have heard about Khiri Travel on their unique and variety of experiences they provide to visitors. After joining Khiri Travel, I am amazed by the way we support the local business and the local communities. Provide the training to the local people so they can get more income and got the knowledge on what the responsible tourism is.
Q: What is your favorite destination in Cambodia, and why?
It’s not that easy to choose one destination while I have many on my list. But I think Battambang is in the top rank. The city is charming with well-preserved colonial architecture, and the city is not crowded. You can do many activities like food testing, biking to the countryside, through the rice fields, visiting the local people and learning about their daily life. Riding on the bamboo train, and seeing the countless bats exit from the cave at Phnom Sampeau is not to be missed when you are in Battambang.
Q: What is your favorite way of travel when it comes to transportation (train, air, boat, drive?) and why?
I enjoy traveling by train, one is the time that we do not need to spend a long time on the baggage check and waiting for boarding, then the space is bigger, and feel peaceful. Last but not least, the train is a more environmentally friendly way of traveling than driving and flying.
To be upfront, I have not experienced the train in Cambodia yet since the railway resumed operating, however, I am looking for a chance to do it.
Q: If you could do anything, what would you do to make this industry more sustainable?
I would love to share my experience and join the team to provide the training as much as we can to the local community about sustainability.
Q: What have been the biggest challenges in your career and what have you learned about yourself during these challenges?
My biggest challenge is when the pandemic started and everything changed suddenly and unexpectedly. I had then to work from home, I was feeling overwhelmed, stressed and hard to manage my time. To overcome this, I tried to seek advice in order to maintain my working productivity while working from home and not to overthink the pandemic. Being optimistic and resilient is what I learned during this challenging time.
Q: What are you most looking forward to when travel resumes in Cambodia?
I am looking forward to receiving more and more inquiries from our partners and to seeing the tourists visiting our country with confidence and fearless again.
Q: What are your future ambitions?
For now, I would say my ambition is hoping to see the speedy recovery of tourism and I can not wait to be busy again.