Yangon, 24 February 2017
Hla Day and Khiri Travel, together with iDiscover, today announced the launch of The Yangon Good Guide, a map and app which connect tourists and city explorers to the city’s best social enterprises, offering a much-needed lifeline to innovative entrepreneurs who actively support their local communities.
The Guide currently connects people to 20 social enterprises around Yangon, while also providing a platform for the businesses to engage with one another in a collaborative spirit.
''We are delighted to launch the 'good guide' map today,''said Ulla Kroeber, Hla Day's Lead Designer. " With the right support social enterprises have a real potential to transform the life of local citizens. We believe that this initiative will bring tourists and visitors to those places and with that boost their revenues and popularity. It will help to grow this important segment of Yangon businesses by giving social businesses a platform to share their experiences, challenges and expertise.
Research shows that international visitors are becoming much more socially and environmentally aware, often seeking out ways to make a positive impact in the cities and countries they visit. The Yangon Good Guide provides a direct link to help them achieve that, making a strong contribution to the city’s evolving tourist sector.
Speaking about the launch today, Stefan Scheerer, Khiri Travel, said: “An increasing number of business and organisations in Yangon are making great strides in recent years to promote cultural heritage and encourage sustainable tourism. Our new map and app, which has been a year long in the making, was developed in direct response to the growing demand for authentic and sustainable travel experiences in Myanmar. It brings to life the untold stories of local business who exist to drive positive change in their communities.”
The app, developed by iDiscover, a Hong Kong based social enterprise with a mission to keep heritage alive for a vibrant and viable urban future, provides four visually-engaging, community-curated neighbourhood walks through the city. This newest guide is the fifth addition to the iDiscover Yangon series.
“We want to facilitate and empower our partners to showcase the uniqueness of their neighbourhood as a destination,” said Ester van Steekelenburg, Founder of iDiscover. “We also want to promote local businesses and traditional trades that define the authenticity and vibrancy of older neighbourhoods to help them survive in the 21st century."
The map and app combination invites locals and tourists alike to be more curious about the products and services they purchase and support, encouraging them to be part of the triple bottom line that links social, environment and profit.
“We hope this initiative will drive awareness of social enterprise in the Yangon,” said Randi Wagner, Project Manager at Hla Day. “We want to advance a dialogue about what it means to start and operate a business with a social focus. As it currently stands, Social enterprises are not legally recognised in Myanmar, meaning it is a conscious effort to run a business to have a social impact. The time has come, not only to give them the credit they deserve, but to also foster discussion about appropriate policy frameworks that can help this sector succeed for the greater good of the communities in which they operate.”
The Yangon Good Guide map, which was designed by Monika Traikov from Yangon Redesigned, a passionate graphic designer wishing to bring a fresh look to Myanmar designs. The map is currently available from Hla Day, and Khiri Travel with more distribution points to follow in the coming weeks. The App is available for download from App Store or Google Play, by searching iDiscover Yangon City Walks. The Yangon Good Guide can be downloaded for free with the other walks costing US$1.99 and all proceeds go back to Hla Day to be reinvested in its projects. It can also be used offline to avoid expensive roaming charges.
For all media enquiries and interview requests, please contact:
Randi Wagner from Hla Day at info@hladaymyanmar
About Khiri Travel
Khiri Travel was founded in 1993 and now has offices and specialist teams in Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos). A dedicated sales office in the USA bridges the time zones and makes personal contact easier for North American partners.
Khiri’s vision of “Sharing our Passion for Discovery” encompasses the company’s collective inspiration, outlook, and culture. We have a Code of Conduct to define the principles of our Core Values and to provide a base for our corporate culture. Khiri prides itself in authentic connections, adaptability, and innovation and offers intimate, personalized travel experiences. Khiri caters to any desire at any budget, from Family Travel and Regional Highlights to Community-based Tourism and Discovery Excursions (and everything in between).
Khiri Reach is our charity organization to help disadvantaged people through community development, conservation, environment and empowerment projects.
About Hla Day
Hla Day created this map as a response to its customers regularly asking for other businesses they could support who also shared a vision for social impact. Hla Day brings together four years of experience in running a successful social enterprise. We aim to support small independent Myanmar craft businesses to be successful and sustainable. Hla Day does this by providing services through design and business training while offering supported access to a fair and supportive marketplace with opportunities within and beyond the local market.
Every single one of our products is made by a Myanmar person. We take pride in sourcing and using local materials. We focus on creating partnerships that promote and help build long term sustainability and add value to the local crafts producers
About iDiscover
iDiscover is a socially responsible travel app with community curated neighbourhood walks. Each walk contains 20-30 sites that bring local cultural heritage to life by showcasing untold stories and urban legends, supported by detailed photography. For easy navigation and site selection the sites are divided into five iDiscover categories: iSee, iDrink, iEat, iShop and iSurprise.
iDiscover connects old and new. We like the creative entrepreneurs and independent shops that inject new life into old neighbourhoods, but we also want to drive traffic to the shops that have been there for generations, so they can survive for yet another generation.
With a simple intuitive user interface, the iDiscover App&Map offers a unique experience for those who prefer to travel like a local.
EXPLORE: authentic neighbourhoods where the city’s spirit thrives, at your own pace without worrying about expensive roaming costs.
DISCOVER: hidden gems handpicked by passionate locals.
WANDER: with easy to follow, off-line GPS enabled maps and an illustrated printed map.
GIVE BACK: to keep local culture and heritage alive. Shop locally and support traditional businesses.
More about the maps
The maps are printed locally and sustainably, then distributed to places that share the iDiscover passion for the authenticity of the neighbourhood. If you would like to be a distributor please contact info@hladaymyanmar.org
