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Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2009
Tropic Journeys in Nature has been shortlisted in The Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2009, organised by responsibletravel.com. Launched in 2004, the Awards aim to celebrate those individuals, companies and organisations in the travel industry that are making a significant commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and are providing a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation.
The shortlist was selected by a panel of 13 prolific judges at a recent judging day held at The Royal Geographical Society, London. Dr. Harold Goodwin, Chair of the Judges and Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University said:
"Working our way through this year's long lists, we were impressed by the willingness of so many organisations to take responsibility and to do what they can to help make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. This year over 140 submitted detailed responses to our questionnaire and we received hundreds of references".
“Despite the economic difficulties being faced by the travel and tourism industry, responsible tourism continues to move ahead and I’m continu ally impressed as more is achieved by more people. As judges we are all very aware of the great work that is being done by so many and our decisions are often very difficult and sometimes long debated. I am pleased to say that we have worthy winners in all categories – for more detail you’ll need to wait on the announcements on Wednesday 11th November."
For 15 years, TROPIC Journeys in Nature has pioneered the concept of responsible ecotourism in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. TROPIC provides high quality responsible travel experiences in Ecuador’s most spectacular natural areas and national parks in the company of its native peoples. The company has worked with successive national government to influence policy such that sustainability is now a manifest priority for Ecuador’s government. While pioneering experiences with indigenous people in Ecuador’s Amazon headwaters significant benefits have been mobilized for local people including co-ownership of two ecolodges (see www.huaorani.com), and recently Tropic working with the Huaorani people and the charity it set up – Conservation in Action, has created a 100,000 acre reserve in the heart of their territory.
Founded by responsibletravel.com the Awards are run in association with headline sponsor, Virgin Holidays and partners World Travel Market, The Daily Telegraph and Geographical Magazine.
Amanda Wills, managing director, Virgin Holidays, headline sponsor of the Awards said:
“In Virgin Holidays’ third year as headline sponsor of this important event, I remain as excited by this year’s innovators in the responsible travel arena as I did when we first teamed up with responsibletravel.com in 2007. In this moveable landscape, consistency, focus and commitment to sustainable solutions are vital. At some point the recession will be behind us, but sustainable travel solutions are not a passing challenge.”
The Awards presentation will be held as part of World Responsible Tourism Day at the World Travel Market in London, on Wednesday 11 November where the winners in all 13 categories will be announced. For more information and to register for WTM, visit http://www.wtmwrtd.com/
For the full shortlist, see www.responsibletourismawards.com/shortlist09
For more information about the judges and the judging process see: www.responsibletourismawards.com/about
How can hotels contribute to, and benefit from, biodiversity conservation?
Join ACCOR, Tropic Journeys in Nature, Royal Caribbean Cruises and TUI Travel in a discussion on the biodiversity related risks and opportunities for the accommodation sector.
Join us in this session, and discuss about our experience.
