Take an award winning holiday!
Wednesday 8 November 2006 was a big day in responsible tourism. The First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards were announced by John Stapleton at the World Travel Market for the third year running, in front of a packed audience.
Many of you nominated your favourites over the summer and you will no doubt spot some of them among the winners. We received an impressive 1200 nominations, demonstrating just how much the Awards, and understanding of responsible tourism in general, have grown over the last 3 years.
Selected nominated organisations were invited to submit responses to a detailed questionnaire on their responsible tourism policies and practice. In early October, a panel of 13 expert judges had the very tough job of assessing them and agreeing on the winners.
There were 13 categories up for grabs, from mountain to marine, and protected area to poverty reduction. With such a variety, the winners covered the board, from major tour operators, Intrepid (joint overall winner) to small community lodges such as Ol Malo Lodge & Trust in Kenya (their fellow joint overall winner). Take a look at the full list of winners and download an Awards brochure .
Whatever type of holiday you are looking for, there is sure to be an Award winner to provide it. So let's have a peek at a selection of the winners...
Take to the slopes If you’re feeling in a festive mood, you’ll be pleased to hear that green snow featured heavily in this year’s Awards and North America led the way. Whistler Blackcomb Mountain Resorts (Best in Mountain Environment) established their Environmental Management System back in 1993 and have been building on it ever since, spending over $1.2million on watershed restoration, reducing CO2 emissions via their carpooling programme for staff and promoting conservation of biodiversity through their Habitat Improvement Team's restoration projects.
Aspen, meanwhile, scooped the Best Destination Award thanks to the efforts of the Aspen Skiing Company who have been behind a whole host of ski industry 'green firsts’ such as using biodiesel in snow groomers, establishing the first employee-run environment foundation and being the first resort member of the Chicago Climate Exchange. The judges hoped the example of these North American destinations would influence European resorts.
If you’re looking for green ski options closer to home, check out the Highly Commended Ski Club of Great Britain’s ‘Respect the Mountain’ campaign, pushing for more environmental accountability in the skiing industry and giving you eco-friendly choices with its "Green Resort Guide".
Winter Warmers
Maybe you’ve had enough of the cold and you’re after something a little more toasty... Head to multi-award winning Africa! Best for Poverty Reduction and Overall Joint Winner Ol Malo Lodge and Trust (book through Tribes Travel), and Best Small Hotel winner, Il N’gwesi Community Lodge are both based in Kenya and their remote and stunningly beautiful surroundings offer the weary traveller a chance to get away from it all, especially in the run up to Christmas! Run by and for the local community, you can be sure that your holiday is really making a difference; the Ol Malo Trust, for example, is helping to eradicate Trachoma, a cause of painful blindness that affects over 82% of adults in the Ol Malo area, training Kenyan ophthalmologists to carry out the operations.
Moving into South Africa, the innovative Bicycling Empowerment Network, or BEN, received an Award for their township tours with a twist; no air-conditioned bus here, you’re on your bike giving you plenty more opportunities to take in your surroundings and meet and chat with the locals. What’s more, these aren’t just any old bikes but abandoned ones, reclaimed and then reconditioned by the local community providing an alternative source of income.
On to Namibia, and you can lie back and wind down in the peace and quiet of the Damaraland Camp, a joint venture between the Torra Wildlife Conservancy and Wilderness Safaris. Highly Commended in the Protected Area category, it shares the benefits of tourism with the local communities, making the Torra Conservancy the first in Namibia to become economically independent with 10% of accommodation fees going to community shareholders.And if Africa doesn't take your fancy, maybe Tobago can tempt you! Highly Commended in the Best Destination category, one of The Travel Foundation Tobago's main successes is their "Adopt a Farmer" programme where so far twelve farmers have been involved in supplying hotels with over TT$260,000 (£26,000) worth of local produce. Assisted by The Foundation to sell directly to the hotels, farmers earn 30-100% more for their produce allowing them to increase the size of their farms and the range of crops.
Indian Summer
If you're after the hustle and bustle of the city, Mumbai's Orchid Hotel, Best Large Hotel Award winner, is a great responsible option: a 'zero garbage' Ecotel certified hotel with multiple innovations for energy efficiency.
For the traveller looking to escape urban life, the backwaters of Kerala provide the perfect retreat. Relax in the company of Mark and Sujeewa at Friday’s Place, Highly Commended in the Innovation & Technology category. Using renewable energy and following an environmentally sound building policy they have also created the 'Tsunami House', a building they say will take the impact of a Tsunami. Alternatively, take a trip down river with The Blue Yonder, set up to raise funds for the Nila Foundation to revive and regenerate a dying river in Kerala and with it the culture and fortunes of the local community with which it is inextricably linked.
Diving in…
Marine category winners, Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia, invite you to duck and dive to your heart’s content, happy in the knowledge that 12km of reef is being protected by the local community as part of their Collaborative Community Based Reef Management Program where in exchange for direct payments to local villages, reef sanctuaries have been established.
The Highly Commended Dyer Island Cruises are eager to welcome you aboard to view South Africa's unique sea life and rare pelagic birds around the bird sanctuary of Dyer Island. Its 'Clean Marine' project is educating the fishing industry and the public about the need to clean up the coast.
Blue Ventures, Highly Commended in the Volunteering category, also lets you get wet while doing your bit to save our seas. In Madagascar, Blue Ventures volunteers worked with local people to create the country's first community-run marine protected area leading to national legislation placing seasonal restrictions on fishing across Madagascar.And if you’d rather sit and watch the waves, the Guludo Beach Lodge in Mozambique, Highly Commended for Poverty Reduction, which uses tourism as a vehicle for relieving poverty and protects the environment by developing lodges in areas of extreme poverty, let’s you do just that!
Wild winners
If wildlife watching is your thing, then head to the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in South Africa. Winner of the Best for Conservation of Endangered Species category, they are restoring an area of approximately 1000 square kilometres of Kalahari savannah to a pristine state. In 2006 they reintroduced cheetah and wild dogs to the reserve, both species which had become virtually extinct in this area. And not forgetting the gorgeous lodge where you can make yourself at home after a hard day spent admiring the wonders of the natural world!
Wildlife Worldwide, Highly Commended in this category, will tailor make a wildlife viewing holiday for you. Working closely with several conservation organisations protecting endangered species around the world, such as The Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Raincoast Conservation Society, they help to promote awareness and raise much needed funds.
To get involved in conservation yourself, have a chat to Biosphere Expeditions, winner of the Volunteering category, whose data collected by volunteers helped to prevent the cull of 50 wolves in the Carpathian mountains.
Travel training
Two Cambodian hotels recognised in the Best Large Hotel and Best for Poverty Reduction categories respectively are the Hotel de la Paix and the Shinta Mani Hotel & Institute of Hospitality, working together to provide training and employment to lift the local people out of poverty while offering the traveller a luxurious and relaxing break.
Ecolodges
Let’s not forget the humble ecolodge. Such is the popularity of this rustic accommodation that to win an Award the ecolodge under scrutiny must be truly exceptional! Basata Ecolodge in Egypt is a beacon for how tourism should be managed in an area not known for responsible tourism. Key to their success is integration with the local Bedouin community, who work and sell their crafts in the lodge, and are involved in the local shore protection programme. Basata also collect, sort, reuse and recycle waste for the whole gulf of Aqaba.
Posada Amazonas Lodge in Peru was built and is owned and run by the local Infierno Community, providing a source of income that encourages the protection and cultivation of this vulnerable area; while Sukau Rainforest Lodge in Malaysia is an ecological paradise completely self sufficient in water with showers heated by solar power and 85% of staff, including senior management, coming from the local village. At the Napo Wildlife Center in Ecuador, winner in the Best Protected Area category, a joint venture with the community protects an area of 82 square miles of pristine rainforest, working closely with Yasuni National Park.Closer to home
Of course, you don’t have to go far to stumble across an Award winner. The green timeshare, The Trelowarren Estate which sources 80% of its ingredients from within the 10 square miles of the Lizard and the very environmentally friendly Bedruthan Steps Hotel with its 'Green Team' whose tasks include monitoring energy consumption and encouraging guests to re-use and recycle, are happily flying the flag for Cornwall. At the other end of the country, Wilderness Scotland are making sure that any trip you take with them begins at a train station. The Greenbox, meanwhile, is regenerating a cross border region in the North West of Ireland as an ecotourism destination, putting in place recognised standards, starting with the EU Flower standard for accommodation, to cover all aspects of tourism activity in the region.
Getting around
Wherever you decide to go, think about how you’re going to get there. We’re all trying to fly less these days and one man who’s helping us to do just that is Mark Smith, the mysterious Man in Seat 61 and winner of this year’s Best Personal Contribution Award. Mark’s passion for trains led him to create seat61.com in his spare time (by day he works for 'the murky world of government regulation of fares and ticketing on Britain's railways' as he says on his website!) to help people navigate their way through the maze of train operators and systems throughout Europe and beyond.
And talking of trains, if you’re in the Norfolk area, why not take a trip on one of the Transport Award winner Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership’s TeaRail or AleTrail journeys?
If you do have to fly, First Choice Airways received recognition for the fact that they are one of very few airlines to publish independently audited figures on their emissions, and they are working hard to reduce them. For a rather shorter trip, don't miss the chance to take one of Highly Commended SolarLab's Solar Shuttles, a solar powered boat for 40 passengers, across the Serpentine Lake in London's Hyde Park!
And finally…
If this is all too much for you to take in, why not place yourself in the capable and responsible hands of one of our Award winning tour operators. Choose from overall joint winner Intrepid Travel, long time leader in the field of responsible tourism and doing great work with The Intrepid Foundation, Wilderness Scotland or Wildlife Worldwide mentioned above, or World Expeditions noted for their Porter Protection Progamme in Nepal in the Best for Mountain category.
Wherever you choose to go, enjoy your Award winning holiday!
Want to know more? See the full list of winners and download an Awards brochure.