The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed the 15 finalists for its 2015 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. With categories covering destination stewardship, community benefit, environmental management, workforce development and innovation, and a rigorous judging process, these Awards provide the highest accolade for sustainability in the global Travel & Tourism industry.
The Awards aim to transform the Travel & Tourism industry, based upon sustainable tourism principles, by educating and inspiring travel & tourism businesses and destinations about how to improve the sustainability of the sector. Applications were received from 57 countries across all continents. In the first stage of a comprehensive three step judging process, a committee of independent expert judges carefully evaluated and selected award entries against established sustainable tourism criteria including the protection of natural and cultural heritage, social and economic benefits to local people and environmentally friendly operations. The second phase of judging will now involve an on-site evaluation of each finalist carried out by international sustainable tourism experts. These experts will make in-depth first hand assessments of the organisations and businesses in practice. They will then be assessed by a further panel of sustainability experts, who will select the winner for each category. Winners will be announced during the 15th WTTC Global Summit, Madrid, Spain on 15/16th April 2015.
The Finalists of the 2015 WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are:
Community Award finalists, whose organisations are committed to sustainable tourism leadership in local community development, empowerment and cultural heritage
- Fenyan Ecolodge, Jordan
- Grootbos Nature Reserve, South Africa
- Reality Tours & Travel, India
- Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Northeast and Yilan Coast, Taiwan
- Sozopol, Bulgaria
- Laguna Lodge Eco-Resort & Nature Reserve, Guatemala
- Rivers Fiji, Fiji
- The Soneva Group, Maldives & Thailand
- ABTA Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism, United Kingdom
- RED Sustainable Travel, Mexico
- TripAdvisor GreenLeaders, USA
- Confortel, Spain
- Global Travel & Tourism Partnership, USA
- Mountain Shepherds Initiative, India
- Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director & Trustee, Forum for the Future
- Hugh Riley, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
- Mandip Singh Soin FRGS, Founder & Managing Director, Ibex Expeditions Pvt Ltd, India, Mountaineer, Explorer, Eco pacifist, Adventure Travel & Ecotourism expert
- Graham Miller, Awards Lead Judge, Professor of Sustainability in Business and Head of School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, The University of Surrey
David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC said; “It is vital that we learn best practice from each other and raise the sector’s ethics to the highest order. The Awards, now in their 11th year, showcase the companies and organisations who are breaking new ground in sustainable tourism development. This year's finalists demonstrate that, when carefully managed, tourism can be a powerful force for improving livelihoods and protecting our planet for future generations. We want their stories to inspire others in the sector to follow their example. This year, for the first time, the ceremony will be live-streamed so that not only our delegates but the world at large will be able to hear the winners’ stories first hand.”