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Rest of World Responsible Tourism Award winners revealed
A diverse cross section of tourism operators won gold in the Responsible Tourism Awards, rest of the world region.
They include community experiences in Borneo, an iron age museum in Scotland and accessibility services by a major tour operator, as well as a sustainability tool to help travel businesses reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Emeritus professor Harold Goodwin, managing director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and chair of the judges said: “All our Rest of the World Responsible Tourism Award winners competed in a very tough field and are all outstanding examples of initiatives which will provide inspiration.”
The Rest of The World gold winners now go on to be considered for the Global Responsible Tourism Award sponsored by Sabre which will be announced on 4 November.
They will be competing against gold winners from Africa, Latin America, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
The full shortlist: 2024 Global Award Finalists – ICRT GLOBAL
The Rest of the World Responsible Tourism Award winners unveiled are:
Borneo Adventure, a specialist Malaysia tour operator for work with the local Iban communities in Sarawak in a way which has increasing local sourcing and created shared value. www.borneoadventure.com
The Scottish Crannog Centre This open-air museum recreates an Iron Age village on the banks of Loch Tay and sources as much as possible from within the travelling distance of the museum.
Tour operator TUI also wins a gold Responsible Tourism Award. Its dedicated Accessible Holidays Strategy team has partnered with AccessAble to survey hotels and develop detailed access guides which are now available online. It has also partnered with Sign Live to provide interpreting services for British sign language users via video relay. Accessible Holidays | TUI.co.uk
Wise Sustainability wins a gold Responsible Tourism Award for tackling climate change. Wise Sustainability assists businesses in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions Wise Sustainability uses technology to measure use, identify the profligate use of resources and enable management to reduce resource use. www.wisesustainability.com
The judges also awarded two silver awards:
Six Senses, Zighy Bay in Oman wins a silver Responsible Tourism Award for employing and upskilling local communities. The hotel has worked in partnership with the Dibba Women’s Association to create new immersive experiences called “Sense of Oman through a Woman’s Eyes”. www.sixsenses.com
Costa Navarino in the southwest Peloponnese of Greece wins a silver award for its nature-positive approach. This collection of five-star hotels, golf courses, conference and spa facilities, funds activities which could be replicated by similar developments. Examples include the Navarino Environmental Observatory collaboration with Stockholm University and the Academy of Athens. www.costanavarino.com
In addition, the judges commended three ‘ones to watch’ with award finalists showing great promise for the future. These are:
Pitchup.com is commended for its work surveying 2,000 disabled people to understand their thoughts experiences and challenges in accessing outdoor holiday accommodation such as camping, caravanning and glamping. Pitchup, which offers more than 5,600 campsites and parks in 67 countries, has now launched 13 accessibility filters, an accessibility hub and accessibility guides. www.pitchup.com
Broughton Sanctuary in Yorkshire is commended for the scale of its vision and ambition to be a regenerative space though rewilding including plans to introduce rare breeds and reintroduce beavers. The rewilding project at Broughton Sanctuary began five years ago with native tree planting and habitat restoration at a scale of 1m000 acres and by the reintroduction of iron-age pigs. www.broughtonsanctuary.co.uk
Vegan Travel Asia is a Texas-based company offering culturally immersive and responsible vegan travel experiences across Asia. It is commended as one to watch for the significant effort it is taking as a niche company to measure and reduce its greenhouse gas emission. www.vegantravelasia.com
Detailed citations for all winners can be read on The Responsible Tourism Partnership website https://responsibletourismpartnership.org/2024-row/
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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