In an industry driven by profits and KPIs, you could be forgiven for losing sight of what the world really looks like.

At WIT Seoul 2018, much of the discussion revolved around how travel businesses should be responding to international issues from geo-political tensions to the brittle state of the global economy. Yet often, it is easy to overlook how the companies we operate have a tangible impact on the world we inhabit.

During the conference, Rajan Sakya (CEO, KGH Hotels Group, Nepal) reminded us about the kinds of impact we have in the travel industry and our collective duty to make sure that these impacts contribute positively, to trigger social change.

Sakya shared how KGH Hotels Group – a Nepal-based hotel chain made up of seven eco-friendly hotels – is designed to support social causes like female and youth empowerment, health, the environment and migrant labour support – without sacrificing profits but yet not totally focused on that either.

In particular, Sakya discussed how KGH Hotels works with Maiti Nepal – an organisation that rescues victims of human trafficking.

“It’s a very sad truth that every year about 9,000 Nepalese girls between the ages of 8 and 14 are sold at the border of Nepal and China. The organisation, Maiti Nepal, rescues these girls from the provinces and borders of India and houses [them].”

Read the full article here.