G Adventures among Tourism for Tomorrow Awards finalists
Canadian tour operator G Adventures and UK travel firm Biosphere Expeditions are in contention for the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Awards to be announced next week.
The pair are among 15 finalists for the five Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, which are now in their 13th year.
WTTC president and chief executive David Scowsill said: “This year saw a 36% rise in applications, showing not only that more travel and tourism companies are looking to operate sustainably, but also an increase in interest to share best practices.”
He added: “We have to ensure we safeguard the environment, local communities and cultural heritage and our awards programme calls on tourism businesses to showcase that.”
The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony at the WTTC’s annual Global Summit in Bangkok on April 26.
Fiona Jeffery, chair of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, said: “It’s more important than ever to highlight how tourism positively connects people and brings social and economic benefits to destinations.”
G Adventures is one of three finalists for the Community Award, along with Cinnamon Wild Yala from Sri Lanka and Ol Pejeta Conservancy from Kenya.
Biosphere Expeditions is up for the Environment Award with fellow finalists Misool of Indonesia and the Caiman Ecological Refuge of Brazil.
The Destination Award is contested by the Botswana Tourism Organisation, the City of Bydgoszcz in Poland, and the Pallas-Yllastunturi National Park of Finland.
Native Hotels and Accessible Tourism of Spain, Soel Yachts of the Netherlands and the Mapping Ocean Wealth Initiative led by Nature Conservancy of the US are the finalists for the Innovation Award.
The People Award will go to one of three from Desert & Delta Safaris of Botswana, Streets International of Vietnam and the J Willard and Alice S Marriott Foundation’s China Hospitality Education Initiative.
Lead judge of the awards, Professor Graham Miller, executive dean of the University of Surrey, said: “The finalists illustrate how widespread the notion of sustainable tourism has become.”
