Christian de Boer
Managing Director of Jaya House Park, & an Advisor to the UN and UNWTO
Christian is Managing Director of Jaya House River Park and an Advisor to the UN and UNWTO in reducing the use of single-use plastic in the tourism industry. He continues to seek ways that hospitality concepts, guests and members of the community can work together to create a more responsible, holistic approach to the travel and tourism industries.
Christian’s passion for meaningful hospitality started at a young age, achieving a degree from the esteemed Middelbare Hotel School, Haagland. Christian has since spent over two decades in prestigious roles in the industry, across cities as diverse as London, Paris, Lagos, Singapore, Saigon and Hoi-An, for names including Virgin Atlantic Airways, Mandarin Oriental (in Paris and Singapore), Raffles Paris (formerly Royal Monceau) and the much talked about Nam Hai Resort in Vietnam.
Christian then laid down his roots in Siem Reap in 2009 as Director of Sales and Marketing at Hotel de la Paix, which during his time there, won awards recognising the hotel’s excellence, including being on the Gold List, and World Saver 2010 Awards from Condé Nast Traveler in the ‘Education Programs’ and ‘Poverty Relief’ categories.
This was followed by a year’s stint as Director of Sales and Marketing at Song Saa Private Island in Cambodia's Koh Rong Archipelago, before Christian was appointed General Manager at Shinta Mani Club in Siem Reap.
Here, Christian he set his sights on positioning it as the best hotel in the area and within two short years, the Shinta Mani became the No. 2 hotel in the world according to TripAdvisor and continues to maintain its reputation as one of the best hotels in the world. During this time he also launched the Shinta Mani Foundation that supported education, music and healthcare projects in the area, and the Made in Cambodia Market, with the goal of creating Khmer jobs and showcasing the crafts and skills of people within the local community.
In 2016, Christian took the next step in environmental activism, co-founding “Refill Not Landfill” – a global campaign to reduce single-use plastic drinking bottles and other single-use plastic waste. The scheme has proved so successful that it now operates in Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Myanmar and New Zealand. The initiative marries Christian’s international hospitality career and his goal to support the local area and reduce harm to the environment.
Alongside the project’s launch, Christian was appointed Managing Director of Jaya House River Park in 2016. His goal has been to inspire and become a thought leader of the hospitality industry, showcasing that being responsible is a viable option.
Jaya House has been a catalyst for Christian’s success in supporting local Khmer communities and improving the natural beauty of the area. Since 2016, Jaya House River Park has planted more than 2,150 trees in public areas of Siem Reap and has supported multiple NGO’s and charities – including The Cambodian Landmine Relief Fund, The Green Gecko Project and the Small Art School, Siem Reap – with monthly financial donations funded by contributions from each guest’s stay.
Before each stay, guests are encouraged to support the Jaya House Nutritional Book Drive, by buying one or more of two carefully selected educational books – Nutrition Facts for Kids and How to Pack for the Journey called Life – which are then distributed to schools and libraries around Siem Reap.
In 2019, Christian spearheaded the launch of Jaya Organics – a range of natural skincare products that are sulfate-free, paraben-free, and cruelty-free, which are locally produced by Khmer families using locally sourced, organic ingredients.
Christian continues to use his deep understanding of the socio-economic context in Cambodia with recognition that sustainable tourism is essential to fuel a continuously bright future for the country he adores.
