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. RED Sustainable Travel (RED) has been selected as a finalist from a field of 158 applicants for the Innovation Award, together with ABTA Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism, and Trip Advisor Green Leaders.
The Tourism for Tomorrow 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 organizations 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 Innovation Award, for which RED was nominated as a Finalist, is given to organizations providing innovative solutions to overcoming the challenges faced by Travel & Tourism in implementing sustainability in practice.
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 organizations that 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.”