Responsible tourism 200 to choose winners from

Heroes of responsible tourism take one step closer to Awards

Debate over who will win the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2014, sponsored by the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism, begins in earnest as the official Longlist is released.

Included on the list are organisations as diverse as the London Science Museum, the Cape Town Carnival, and British Airways, while destinations from Mexico and Arizona, Iceland and the UKs  Cotswolds are also represented.

The Awards’ 200+ Longlist is the first step towards deciding this year’s selection of the most exciting and enduring responsible holiday experiences in the world. Including organizations longlisted for their approach to animal welfare, carbon reduction, accessibility and even beach tourism, the Longlist offers a snapshot of some of the industry’s most pressing – and contentious – issues.

Speaking about the Longlist, Justin Francis, founder of the Awards and Managing Director of responsibletravel.com, said: "At this stage of the Awards we don’t know enough about the Longlist to decide the winners, but we’ve had just enough of a taste to get excited about the possibilities. The organisations selected from public nomination each represent very different, in some cases competing, approaches to responsible tourism. Looking through that list should give a distinct flavour of the trends and new developments in responsible tourism."

The longlisted organisations will now be put through their paces with a specially designed application requiring them to provide detailed metrics and information about their policies, practices and achievements in responsible tourism before being submitted to the Judging Panel.

Professor Harold Goodwin, Chair of the Awards Judging Panel, was keen to impress being on the Longlist is no guarantee of an Award: "Our Judges have yet to see the organisations in the Longlist, which have been drawn from public nomination, and there is still much work to be done before the Panel meets to decide the winners in September. Not all of those listed here will make the cut. In the next month we’ll be asking them to put forward the best possible case for why they feel they can be credible and inspirational winners this year."

This year marks the first year the Awards have released their Longlist to the public, demonstrating the wide range of responsible tourism programmes considered every year.

Alison Cryer, Director of Oman Ministry of Tourism, MBR office UK & Ireland said: "The Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism is pleased to support the announcement of such a diverse Longlist for the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2014, and to see so many interesting responsible tourism initiatives nominated this year. We will be looking forward to seeing who will be selected for the announcement of the Shortlist in September."

Read the full Longlist and share your opinions on who will win on the official World Responsible Tourism Awards website.

Valere Tjolle

@valeretjolle

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