We are proud to share that Tripseed has been awarded Silver in the Local Economic Benefit category at the 2026 Responsible Tourism Awards, Southeast Asia. The winners were announced on 8 July at the 2026 International Conference on Responsible Tourism and Hospitality (ICRTH) in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.
The awards, run by ICRT Southeast Asia under its chair, Prof. Dr. Hiram Ting, recognise organisations across the region using tourism to deliver measurable, lasting benefit to the people and places that host it. The 2026 Southeast Asia awards were judged under regional chairs, with Global Chairs including Professor Harold Goodwin, founder of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, and Prof. Dr. Hiram Ting, who also chaired ICRTH 2026.
Why this award matters to us
Most award entries in this category, understandably, focus on product: community-based tours, homestays, village experiences. Our entry deliberately did not. We asked the judges to assess our business conduct instead: how we structure ourselves, how we procure, how we pay tax, and how transparently we disclose all of it.
The judges recognised Tripseed for demonstrating responsible business leadership through tax transparency, reducing economic leakage, and maximising local economic benefit, and credited us with broadening the responsible business agenda. Their citation closed with a question we hope the industry takes seriously: will others follow?
The evidence behind the entry included:
Radical economic transparency. Our 2024 Tax Transparency and Industry Leadership Report was Thailand’s first publicly available GRI 207-aligned tax disclosure by a destination management company. It disclosed THB 1,176,496.70 in corporate income tax for the 2024 financial year, a tax-to-revenue ratio of 2.36%, which was 3.1 times the average of the 17-company peer sample we benchmarked. Our second annual report, covering the 2025 financial year, was published in May 2026 with an expanded disclosure including a full tax reconciliation. Since judging concluded, Tripseed has also become the first business of its kind in the world accredited under the Fair Tax Foundation’s new National Business Standard for the Fair Tax Mark.
Measuring, then fixing, economic leakage. Our Economic Distribution Disclosure Initiative (EDDI) identified vehicle transport as the largest source of leakage from our Central Thailand products. We moved to a locally based, women-led transport provider in 2025, lifting estimated provincial retention on those products from around 64% to around 92%, whilst simultaneously improving upon our gender-responsive procurement performance.
Structural local benefit, not incidental benefit. Multi-day private itineraries consistently represent over 80% of our annual guest volume. In 2025, 234 multi-day bookings generated 2,459 booked days in Thai communities: nights in local accommodation, meals in local restaurants, multi-day guiding fees, and activity spend distributed across destinations.
Smoothing seasonality. In 2024, 73% of our guests travelled in high season. In 2025 that split shifted to 59% high season and 41% low season. For guides, drivers, accommodation providers, and food vendors, the difference between three months of reliable income and five is transformative.
Protecting workers from volatility. If a booking is modified, postponed, or cancelled after a guide has been contracted, they receive their full contracted fee regardless.
Binding reinvestment, not discretionary giving. As a People and Planet First Verified Social Enterprise registered with Social Enterprise Thailand, a minimum of 50% of our profits must be reinvested into social and environmental initiatives in Thailand. In 2025 we updated our Articles of Association and Shareholders Agreement to give that commitment legal force, so it cannot be waived without unanimous shareholder agreement.
This award recognises the machinery behind these commitments, not just the intention.
On stage at ICRTH 2026
Our Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Ewan Cluckie, also contributed to the conference programme. He delivered an Impact Story to delegates on Local Economic Benefit, presenting Tripseed’s framework for measuring and disclosing where tourism money actually goes, and joined a Professional Dialogue on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology in Advancing Tourism, Hospitality and Events.
Congratulations to Thailand’s other winners
We were especially pleased to see Thailand well represented in the Local Economic Benefit category. Gold went to Local Alike, recognised for more than a decade of work helping over 300 communities design and manage tourism on their own terms. Ban Nai Nang Community in Krabi also received Silver for combining community-based tourism with mangrove conservation, sustainable fishing, and stingless beekeeping. Both are outstanding examples of what tourism in Thailand can be, and we are proud to stand alongside them.
What comes next
An award is a milestone, not a destination. Our EDDI methodology continues to be applied across our 80+ tour products, our tax disclosures will continue annually, and our position remains the same: claims about local economic benefit should be verifiable in the accounts, not just visible in the marketing.
You can read the full judges’ citations for all 2026 winners on the ICRT global website.