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Responsible travel firmly on agenda at WTM
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is among holidaymakers who have sent in over 700 nominations for The Responsible Tourism Awards, being held at this year’s WTM.
The awards have ten categories that aim to recognise inspirational tourism and travel initiatives throughout the world that benefit destinations and local people.
Nominations have ranged from a multinational hotel chain that has trained 15,000 staff in responsible tourism, to a small lodge in West Africa whose staff and guests have raised enough money to renovate the local hospital. Archbishop Tutu chose to nominate lodges in South Africa for an award.
Responsibletravel.com founder Justin Francis is on the organising committee for the awards. He said: “We’ve been surprised and thrilled by the number and diversity of nominations. There are some truly inspiring examples of what both mainstream and niche tourism can do to benefit conservation and local people.”
The awards are being held in association with The Times, WTM, and Geographical magazine (the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society). They are being sponsored by First Choice, Active Hotels, Exodus, the Energy Saving Trust, Friends of Conservation, Intrepid Travel and the Fiji Visitors Bureau.
A judging panel that includes ABTA chief executive, Ian Reynolds, former TravelMole editor and responsible travel journalist, Richard Hammond, Reed group exhibition director, Fiona Jeffery and Tourism Concern director, Tricia Barnet, will whittle the nominations down to find the eventual winners.
The winners will be announced at an awards presentation at WTM on Responsible Tourism Day, which is 10 November.
Nominations were made online at: www.responsibletravel.com/awards or through forms distributed with the Saturday travel section of The Times and Geographical magazine over the summer. The closing date for nominations was 25 September 2004.
Report by Ginny McGrath
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