There we were, slowly cruising past the floating villages, and the whole river was buzzing with life. Kids were out on the wooden decks of their homes, families were leaning over the sides of their boats and locals were literally dancing, waving and singing as we floated past. Pure joy.
Then, as we hit the mouth of the river and spilled out onto the massive, open lake, the boat drivers cut the engines and everything just fell into this incredible, peaceful silence. It didn’t take long before a local woman paddled up beside us in a little wooden boat, smiling ear to ear, selling snacks, fresh coconut drinks and ice-cold drinks.
Sitting there on the water, looking around at a boat full of our brilliant Canadian ChangeMakers and other GX boats passing by us, the sheer gratitude just hit me right in the chest. I caught myself smiling and thinking: God, I really do have the best bloody job in the world.
Whenever someone asks me to explain what GX actually is, standard industry words completely fail me.
Is it an industry conference? On paper, sure. There are keynotes, thought leaders, and honest conversations about where the travel industry is heading and how we can change the world.
Changemakers on the steps of Angkor Wat
Is it a family reunion? Without question. You walk into a room and get folded into hugs by agents, media, influencers, supplier partners and our G family from across the globe who you might only see once a year, but who share that same unmistakable spark. It’s magical.
Is it a party? Ask anyone who has stayed up past midnight singing their heart out along with our community on the dance floor: it is, most undeniably, a massive party. It’s pretty epic.
The truth is, it’s every single one of those things. But if you strip away the stages, the lanyards and the daily agendas, the real answer is much simpler: GX is pure heart. It’s what happens when you step well beyond the air-conditioned hotel ballroom, lead travel advisors out into the humidity, dust and vibrancy of the real world, and introduce them directly to the people whose lives are transformed by their bookings. And everyone that attends leaves talking about the impact we left behind. There isn’t a better feeling in the world.
Nowhere did that heart beat louder than at GX Cambodia.
For decades, mainstream tourism treated Cambodia like an afterthought. A hasty 48 hour stopover to snap a sunrise photo at Angkor Wat before catching a flight to a beach in Thailand. But Cambodia is nobody’s photo backdrop. It’s a nation of extraordinary resilience, quiet pride and stories waiting to be heard. Bringing GX here meant stepping into the real stories reshaping its future.
I watched that realization hit our advisors during an afternoon at Spoons Restaurant and Cafe in Siem Reap, as we were greeted by traditional drums and the aromas of slow-simmered amok curry and lemongrass. Spoons trains underserved Cambodian youth from rural provinces, equipping them with the culinary and hospitality skills needed to forge lasting, independent careers. Every bowl of curry and every conversation shared around those tables directly funds an education, turning an ordinary lunch into a genuine lifeline.
And then, there’s the deeply personal connections that will change YOU. When I came to Cambodia for the first time, I had this fantastic CEO (Chief Experience Officer) called James Bun who I built a lovely friendship with. That was 12 years ago, and this past September, we got to reunite at GX, hugging like the years had barely passed. Only this time I got to meet his two beautiful daughters and tell them how much their dad meant to me.
David Green and James Bun, 12 years ago, when James led the tour as CEO and David was MD of STA Travel in Australia before joining G Adventures
Experiences like this stay with you and change you. That’s what you’re signing up for. That is the essence of GX.
When advisors board their flights back home, their bags are filled with local souvenirs, but their hearts and minds are carrying something far greater: names, faces and real stories.
They don’t go back to their desks to sell a 10-day trip. They pitch an adventure because they remember the chef at Spoons whose education they helped fund. They sell it because they remember the laughter of their CEO as they told their stories. They sell it because they know their clients will have the same life changing experience that they had.
With our annual Changemakers challenge now in full-swing, I hope you’ll be one of the 15 lucky advisors to gain a coveted spot at GX Brazil. Even one trip sold changes a life. It’s the catalyst for something more, and a true lasting ripple effect felt across families, communities and generations.
So call GX a conference, a summit or a massive celebration if you want. But to all of us who shared those Cambodian dawns together, it was something else entirely: a reminder of why we fell in love with travel in the first place, and what happens when this industry puts its whole heart first.
Thank you for championing our communities, for showing up with passion and above all, thank you for putting your heart into everything you sell. Next stop: Brazil.
G Adventures’ VP Customer & Sales Operations and Managing Director, Canada, David Green, shares his industry insights, anecdotes and wisdom every month in his monthly column, ‘G in 3’. It’s a 3-minute read running exclusively in Travelweek Daily in 2026.
Lead image caption: G Adventures’ David Green, Erin Rogers and Nuppy Mistry heading into the World Community Tourism Summit
David Green with James and his two daughters today, and Julie FitzGerald, VP Buying, G Adventures