As Chair of Destination Mekong Mark Bibby Jackson welcomes the 2022 Destination Mekong Summit which will be held in a hybrid format on 14-15 December in Phnom Penh.

Following his election to the Destination Mekong Board, Bibby Jackson was elected chair of the private regional tourism board of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), earlier in the year. The summit will be the first major event during his stewardship. It will take place in Trellion and Aquation Parks on Koh Pich in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and online, under the theme ‘Together – Smarter – Stronger’.

“The travel and tourism industry has come in for much criticism in recent years, particularly in terms of its environmental impact, this summit allows us to convey the positive role the industry can play as well as the necessity to promote social and economic sustainability if we are to achieve our environmental sustainability goals,” stressed Mark Jackson, Bibby Jackson said prior to the event.

A two-day journey celebrating creativity, diversity and inclusivity, the Destination Mekong Summit will feature 40 speakers from all sectors discussing various elements of tourism and travel in the GMS region.

Bibby Jackson will make an opening address at the summit in which he will thank the Government of Cambodia for its support of Destination Mekong, as well as outgong chair Willem Niemeijer, founder Dr Jens Thraenhart, and the Destination Mekong Team. He will also use the opportunity to paint his picture for the future of tourism in the region.

You can learn more about Destination Mekong and the Summit, here.

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Travel and lifestyle website Cambodia Begins at 40 launches today, 10 October 2022.

Cambodia is a country that is constantly evolving as new venues open, off-the-beaten-track adventures emerge, new places are discovered and familiar haunts are redeveloped. With so much going on, it can be hard to keep track. That’s where Cambodia Begins at 40 comes in.

“Cambodia Begins at 40 is an exciting new website that contains a wealth of information for visitors, expats and locals,” says co-founder, Mark Bibby Jackson. “There’s a real need for this platform in Cambodia and we believe it will proof a useful tool for all. Our aim is to establish Cambodia Begins at 40 as a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in Cambodia.”

Whether you are Cambodian, a long-term expat or a traveller passing through the Kingdom of Wonder, Cambodia Begins at 40 is the website for you.

A travel and lifestyle hybrid website, Cambodia Begins at 40 has the best writing from our team of expert journalists to provide you with suggestions on what to do and where to go in Cambodia. Whether it is an undiscovered temple, a pristine beach or the perfect spot for a thirst quenching sundowner, expect to be inspired.

In addition to intrepid travel tales that take you across the country, we bring the latest in lifestyle and culture, business and reviews. We provide all you need to know about living in Cambodia and an extensive collection of things to do countrywide.

Our innovative map tool also provides a handy way to discover all the top attractions, navigate the best route between them, and use our directory to work out what to do when you reach your destination.

Click on to the site and sign up to our newsletter to keep up-to-date with our news.

Cambodia Begins at 40, the third in our series of websites after Travel Begins at 40 and London Begins at 40, aims to share the charm of the most amazing country with you.

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Mark Bibby Jackson, founder of Travel Begins at 40, was elected to the Destination Mekong Board on 3 June, as an Executive Board Member.

Bibby Jackson has been working closely with the regional destination marketing organisation for the past year, acting as editor-at-large for the forthcoming Mekong Stories publication.

“It is an honour to be elected to the Destination Mekong Board,” said Bibby Jackson. “The Mekong is where I started my career as a journalist and it is a region that I hold close to my heart.”

Bibby Jackson hopes that in his role as an Executive Board Member he can help promote positive stories of real people in the Mekong whose livelihoods are dependent upon the tourism industry.

“Before Covid there was a lot of emphasis on the negative side of tourism, now is the time to emphasis the positive role the industry an play, without greenwashing the truth,” he said.

Bibby Jackson was elected at the first Annual General Meeting of Destination Mekong, along with: Duangmala Phommavong, Co-Founder and Partner, EXO Travel Lao; Fréderic Tambon, Founder and CEO, Society and Fred; Guido Neil, Director Special Operations, 12Go; Melita Koulmandas, CEO/Founder, Song Saa Collective; Nguyen Tuan Linh, Owner, Mr. Linh’s Adventures Travel; Dr Sasithara Pichaichannarong, Rector, College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Sports, Rangsit University, Thailand; and Sophea Sok, Regional Program Manager, Asia-Pacific, Planeterra Foundation.

At the AGM it was also announced that Destination Mekong would prioritise the new Mekong Tourism Recovery Communications Plan, starting with the release of the Mekong Stories book that Bibby Jackson has edited in June.

Destination Mekong is owned and funded by the private sector of the travel and tourism industry in the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion – China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

If you wish to become a Destination Mekong Changemaker, cick here.

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The Cheshire and High Life North magazines and Euronews all published articles by Mark Bibby Jackson in August.

Bibby Jackson wrote about which European countries should you consider visiting as travel re-starts for The Cheshire Magazine, and international destinations to consider for your next trip for High Life North. Euronews published Bibby Jackson’s article on why we should all start travelling again as soon as we feel comfortable. The article was also reposted on New York Metropolitan Magazine.

The Cheshire Magazine is dedicated to Cheshire, Manchester and the surrounding areas. It covers the latest in fashion, society, art, culture, travel, entertainment, and has a readership of 48 thousand per month.

High Life North is a digital magazine for women with everything from fashion to food, careers and challenging topics. It readership is 12 thousand per month.

EuroNews is an European news TV station. It’s website covers news, business, sport, travel and culture. It has 22 million visitors per month.

The coverage is part of a campaign to highlight Bibby Jackson’s knowledge of the travel industry and especially food and responsible travel.

It follows on from his interview on Food Travel Talk TV, and a future chat on Radio Dean as well as a podcast with Jane Hawkes.

More articles will be published in August and September.

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Travel Begins at 40 editor Mark Bibby Jackson appeared on Food Travel Talk TV on 21 July when he was interviewed by the show’s founder and presenter Erik Wolf.

Bibby Jackson talked on a plethora of subjects from his vast range of travel experiences, especially in Southeast Asia. He explained how he beleived that getting to understand the food of a country is the best way to understand its culture, as well as the importance of Slow Food and Slow Travel.

If you would like to watch the hour-long show then click on to this You Tube link.

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Mark Bibby Jackson has been appointed editor of eXist : the Climate Friendly Travel bulletin by SunX Malta. The first issue was released on 1 July and featured an interview with Willem Niemeijer, founder of tour operator Khiri Travel, and CEO of YAANA Ventures. 

In 2020, Bibby Jackson started a course in Climate Friendly Tourism at SunX Malta under the guidance of Professor Geoffrey Lipman. eXist is the first fruit of their work together following the conclusion of the first year of the course.

“The diploma in Climate Friendly Tourism changed my perspective on the role that travel and tourism can play in a positive light to confront the cataclysmic potential of global heating,” says Bibby Jackson. “In the build up to COP 26 in Glasgow we will be considering a raft of challenges facing the sector in our monthly bulletin.”

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will be held in Glasgow from 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Bibby Jackson is indebted to the work of Angela Rodriguez for her wonderful design of the bulletin.

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With the UK capital slowly emerging from lockdown Mark Bibby Jackson, founder and editor of the website Travel Begins at 40 felt it was the perfect time to launch his latest enterprise, lifestyle website London Begins at 40 on 17 May 2021.

The new website is the second in the … Begins at 40 portfolio following on from the launch of Travel Begins at 40 in 2017.

“London Begins at 40 is a retro magazine that is looking back to the future of the capital,” Bibby Jackson explained at the soft launch.

The launch of the website by Mark Bibby Jackson and partner Joe Ogden coincided with the UK government’s roadmap reopening of many of the cultural attractions that make life in the London capital so exciting.

“Part of the reason behind setting up London Begins at 40 now is to promote the vibrancy of this most amazing capital, as well as to promote a sustainable future,” said Bibby Jackson. “In our sister website Travel Begins at 40, we have started to promote sustainable tourism through our #SustainableSunday series. London Begins at 40 will follow the same course.”

London Begins at 40 is designed both for the independent-minded 40+ or 50+ traveller to London, as well as Londoners themselves. It will have previews and reviews of the latest exhibitions, plays, cinema releases, festivals and restaurants, as well as more in depth articles that profile both the people who live in London and the places they frequent.

Most important for Bibby Jackson is that the new website is by Londoners for Londoners.

“We want you to express what you love about living in the most amazing metropolis on the planet, which is why we have started our London Voices series by an interview with George McGeorge, a normal Londoner who enjoys living London life to the full,” he says.

If you wish to make any suggestions on content for the new website then contact Mark Bibby at [email protected].

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Brand new travel website – www.travelbeginsat40.com – launched earlier this month (September 2017). The website, which unsurprisingly is focused at the 40 plus traveller, intends to specialise in travel articles and news stories from cultural tourism to homestays, adventure travel and eco-tourism.

Founder Mark Bibby Jackson says that he wants to steer away from the entrenched mass tourism that has led to a spate of wildcat anti-tourist demonstrations breaking up around the world.

“It is most important that such tours benefit the local community rather than overwhelm it. It is what I call sympathetic tourism,” he says.

In addition to being a font of inspirational travel stories, Bibby Jackson hopes that the website will become a forum for discussion. “Ultimately, we hope that this website will become a forum for mature, independent-minded and sympathetic travellers to swap travel advice and share anecdotes, as well as publishing the highest quality travel stories, destination guides and photographs,” he says.

Initially the website features articles – or experiences as Bibby Jackson prefers to call them that spread the globe, except Africa. From trekking in Tajikistan to surfing for the over 40s, discovering the other side of Yucatan and taking short treks in Nepal, the site is informed and insightful.

But why no Africa?

“At the moment the collective is restricted to close friends and fellow travel writers that I have encountered over 30 years of travelling, but we are always looking for new writers, especially from Africa,” says Bibby Jackson.

So who knows it could be time for you too to begin travelling at 40 – and perhaps write about it too.

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To Cook A Spider wins the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for Cambodia

Mark Bibby Jackson’s debut Cambodia novel To Cook A Spider has received international recognition at the prestigious 2016 Gourmand Word Cookbook Awards. The competition’s jury announced that To Cook A Spider was the national winner for Cambodia in the categories of Best Self-Published Book and Best Asian Cuisine Book, on January 10.

The first in Bibby Jackson’s Cambodian trilogy, To Cook A Spider highlights contemporary Cambodian cooking as it follows protagonist Inspector Sorn Satya into a murky underworld of murder, blackmail and betrayal.

“Great title, by a talented writer with deep Cambodia experience,” said Edouard Cointreau, President of the Jury, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, on announcing the national winners. “It is a great book, a pleasure to read, and a help for those interested in Cambodia and all Southeast Asia cuisines.”

Nominated in 2016, Bibby Jackson’s Cambodia novel will go on to compete against winners from other countries for the Best in the World titles in the relevant categories. The results will be announced on May 27 and 28 at the annual Gourmand Awards Ceremony, in Yantai, China.

“This is a great privilege, not only for myself but also for Cambodia to achieve such recognition,” said Bibby Jackson. “I hope that this brings greater recognition to the fledgling fiction writing scene emerging in the Kingdom.”

Released in November last year, Bibby Jackson’s second novel, Peppered Justice, continues the culinary theme, with Inspector Satya once more pitting hits wits against a daunting adversary.

“I’m trying to create a kind of culinary crime noir,” says the author, who is currently working on the third in the series.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards represent the second honour bestowed upon Bibby Jackson in the past year, having scooped an award at the inaugural Essex Book Festival Crime Writing Short Story Competition in August for his short story A Slow Death.

Founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards honour the best food and wine books, printed or digital, as well as food television each year. Books from 205 countries participate in the awards, the only international competition in the sector. There is also a focus on self-published books, which Cointreau sees as the fastest growing sector in publishing.

Inspired by the spirit of the Olympic Games, the Gourmand Awards have been compared to the Oscars for the food and beverage writing field. Cointreau’s aims in creating the awards were to reward and honour those who “cook with words”, to enable readers, publishers and retailers to get the best from the food and beverage publishing sector and to raise awareness of the world’s diverse food and wine culture, promoting international understanding.

To Cook A Spider can be purchased at Amazon as an e-book, as can Always and Peppered Justice, or purchased in Cambodia at Monument Books.

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Following on from the success of his debut novel To Cook A Spider, which has won twin prizes at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Mark Bibby Jackson’s second Cambodia novel, Peppered Justice, was released in November 2016.

Peppered Justice by Mark Bibby Jackson

When Inspector Satya is unexpectedly instructed by the Kampot Chief of Police to work on what looks like a routine missing persons case little does he realise he will become ensnared in a web of murder, underage sex and pepper smuggling that is set to shake the peaceful town of Kampot to its core.

The faceless body of a dead girl is discovered in a field in the village of Teuk Chhou on the outskirts of Kampot, but instead of pursuing her killer, Inspector Satya is told to find the missing daughter of a wealthy expat and a rich Khmer. However, the inspector soon realises that the case is far from routine, as the girl’s body is discovered a few hundred metres from the guest house where she was last seen.

When a third girl goes missing, the inspector is involved in a race to save her life, in which he has to confront his own judicial system.

The second of Bibby Jackson’s Cambodian trilogy, Peppered Justice picks up where To Cook A Spider left off, with disgraced Cambodian detective Major Sorn Satya transferred to Kampot after his handling of the Defaux murder case. However, despite this set back the inspector is determined to fight for justice rather than kowtow to authority.

Author Mark Bibby Jackson skilfully merges humour with a pacey detective plot while developing a lead character that is set to become the Kingdom’s favourite culinary detective. Could this be the start of Cambodian nouvelle noir?

Released at the Kampot’s Writers and readers Festival in early November 2016, Peppered Justice is available in bookshops in Cambodia available through Amazon.

Follow on Facebook. Peppered Justice.

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“Peppered with humour, Bibby Jackson’s second novel is as much of a page-turner as it is a psychological insight into what makes humans tick, making it a riveting read from start to finish.”

Marissa Carruthers, AsiaLIFE Cambodia

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About the Author

Mark Bibby Jackson is the award-winning author of the Cambodia novel To Cook A Spider and the short stories Always and A Slow Death. He is the publisher and founder of lifestyle and travel magazine AsiaLIFE Cambodia, and editorial director of ASEAN Forum magazine and Horizon Thailand. As a freelance travel and lifestyle writer as well as food and theatre reviewer he has featured in Forbes, TNT, the Phnom Penh Post, the Myanmar Times and QUO. He moved to Cambodia in 2006, but now flits from Phnom Penh to Bangkok and Essex – and many points in between.

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