Responsible Tourism Awards- (GB)

 

The Responsible Tourism Awards was founded in 2004 to celebrate and inspire change in the tourism industry. The Awards rest on a simple principle – that all types of tourism, from niche to mainstream, can and should be organized in a way that preserves, respects and benefits destinations and local people, working innovatively with local cultures, communities and biodiversity.

But more than that, we want their examples to inspire others. That’s why we’ve got the most rigorous judging process around, and work with the best partners in the industry to help us get the word out – to ensure that their stories provide an example to the industry.

The Responsible Tourism Awards are organized by founder responsibletravel.com, with support from media 

partners Metro Newspaper, Geographical Magazine (the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society), and World Travel Market, where the Awards are given out. The judging process is designed and organized in partnership with the International Centre for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University, and Virgin Holidays have supported the Awards as headline sponsor since 2007.

Since they were founded in 2004, the Awards have attracted over 10,000 nominations from members of the public, leading to 201 unique organizations  Awarded from 51 countries around the world.

What are the Awards for?

To inspire others and to ensure that their stories provide an example to the industry.

How do the Awards work?

Rather than handpick our nominees, we rely on travellers and the industry to nominate those tourism ventures with exciting stories to share. This makes our Awards unique – we don’t pre-decide the winners, we let you tell us who should be in the running. Every year we team up with our media partners to invite the public to make their nominations, and every year this process yields hundreds of unique nominees.

All it takes for someone to be considered for an Award is one nomination in any of our 13 categories. It isn’t a popularity contest; one nomination is enough to be entered.

Once all the nominations are received the judging process really begins – several stages designed with the International Centre for Responsible Tourism to put our nominees through their paces. At each stage the list gets shorter, until our expert panel of judges are ready to combine their knowledge to debate the winners on our annual Judging Day. 

Zambia

What does it mean to be a winner?

Finalists of the Awards are invited to a prestigious ceremony hosted as part of World Responsible Tourism Day at the World Travel Market in London, where the winners are announced to an audience of tourism ministers, destination managers, industry professionals and media. We work with a variety of media partners to share the stories of our winners with the public – including The Metro, and Geographical magazine.

Awards Categories

The Responsible Tourism Awards are divided into 13 categories, each one focusing on a unique area of responsible tourism. For every category, we are looking for organizations conserving cultural heritage, preserving local environments, and contributing to the sustainable livelihoods of local people. As well as this, each category has a unique theme - whether it’s a marine dive resort on a hideaway island, an adventure tour organised with the local community, or a luxury accommodation with a sustainable heart.

New Zealand  in 2009

Tourismnewzealand.com

Best accommodation for local communities

Best accommodation for the environment

Best cruise or ferry operator

Best contribution to conserving cultural heritage

Best tour operator for local experiences

Best low carbon initiative

Best destination

Best in a marine environment

Best in a mountain environment

Best for poverty reduction

Best in responsible tourism writing

Best volunteering organisation

Best for conservation of wildlife and habitats

Winners:

Since 2004, they have awarded over 200 organizations, individuals and destinations from 51 countries around the world making outstanding contributions to local livelihoods, cultural heritage and the environment. Among the winners and those highly commended are remarkable people with deep connections to the places they visit. They offer fantastic holidays that conserve cultural traditions, create sustainable livelihoods, and connect travelers with the pace and rhythm of local ways of life. Each of their winners has a unique story to tell, and we are committed to sharing those stories with the world. 

Asia wins in 2010 Best Enviroment

Asia Responsible.

Celebrity Supporters.

Download images. 

I know a Great Place (Blog) 

 Oficial Web Page (RTA)

A 2 min. video from The Fauzi Azar Inn (winner 2011)

As you can imagine RTA was the future but now is the present, we have to think not only in us ...

Susana