WINNERS of the 2011 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, recognising best practice in sustainable tourism, were announced at the recent World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Las Vegas, US.
The Global Tourism Business category, for companies with at least 500 employees whose achievements marry corporate success with sustainable principles and practices, was won by Intrepid Travel, Australia.
Intrepid Travel is a group experiential tour operator which takes approximately 100,000 travellers to 130 countries each year. In addition to fair trade sourcing of its supply chain and environmentally-friendly practices such as measuring, reducing and auditing carbon emissions at its 30 global offices, the non-profit Intrepid Foundation also actively supports health care, education, human rights, child welfare and sustainable development in the areas Intrepid Travel visits.
The Conservation category recognises entrants which have made a tangible contribution to the preservation of nature, including the protection of wildlife, expanding and restoring natural habitat and supporting biodiversity conservation. The winner was Singita Pamushana, Zimbabwe, for its successful partnership with the local Malilangwe Trust in helping rehabilitate and protect 122,789 acres of degraded wildlife habitat that had suffered from years of poaching.
Today, the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve includes 38 different habitats that are home to four per cent of all bird species in the world, along with rare and endangered animals including black rhino, white rhino, Lichtensteins hartebeest and African wild dogs, among other wildlife. The lodge and the trust employ more than 200 staff, almost all local Zimbabweans, while providing drinkable, clean borehole water and a nutritional outreach programme to more than 10,000 villagers in the area.
Guludo Beach Lodge, Mozambique, was the winner of the Community Benefit award in which entrants directly benefit local people, supporting community development and enhancing cultural heritage. The lodge demonstrated direct and tangible benefits to local people, a strong contribution to community development and enhancement of cultural heritage in the area. Situated in the Quirimbas National Park, Northern Mozambique, Guludo Beach Lodge opened in 2006 in one of Mozambique’s most deprived areas.
Through its non-profit charity, Nema Foundation, Guludo works with 16 local communities to implement grassroots projects based on the UN Millennium Development Goals including malaria eradication, clean drinking water, primary healthcare and rural agriculture production.
And the Destination Stewardship award, for entrants which have successfully managed a sustainable tourism programme at the destination level incorporating social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits as well as multi-stakeholder engagement, went to Alpine Pearls, Austria.
Alpine Pearls, a non-profit organisation headquartered in Austria won the award, having successfully demonstrated sustainable tourism management at a regional destination level. To ease heavy traffic congestion in one of Europe’s most popular tourism areas - the Alpine communities of Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and France - the 24 member Pearls network has developed an innovative approach to providing sustainable transport between villages, including solar powered electric vehicles, low carbon public transport and free use of bicycles for tourists who leave their cars behind. The network also embraces and promotes Alpine folklore, culture and cuisine. By moving guests around its resorts sustainably, Alpine Pearls is successfully addressing one of the most challenging environmental conundrums faced by travel professionals worldwide.