Earthwatch Institute, Singita and Google Received 2014 World Tourism Awards at World Travel Market
Earthwatch Institute, Singita and Google were presented with the 2014 World Tourism Awards today, Monday, November 3, 2014, in a ceremony at World Travel Market, ExCeL Centre, London. The award presentation was hosted by Peter Greenberg, CBS News Travel Editor and world renowned travel expert.
The World Tourism Awards, celebrating its 17th Anniversary, are co-sponsored by Corinthia Hotels, International New York Times, Reed Travel Exhibitions, and – this year for the first time – United Airlines. Inaugurated in 1997, the World Tourism Awards were established to recognize “the extraordinary initiatives by individuals, companies, organizations, destinations, and attractions for outstanding accomplishments in the travel industry.”
The three distinguished 2014 Honourees were recognized for their commitment to conservation, sustainable tourism development, as well as providing opportunities to assist local communities in overcoming challenging times.
Presenting the Awards on behalf of the sponsors were Fiona Harris, Director of International PR, Corinthia Hotels; Kate Macbeth, Head of Marketing & Communications, WTM Portfolio, Reed Travel Exhibitions; Patrick Falconer, Managing Director – UK, The New York Times; and Bob Schumacher, Managing Director Sales, United Kingdom and Ireland, United Airlines.
The first award honoured Earthwatch Institute, “in recognition of its mission to promote a sustainable way of life through education and field research, enlisting more than 100,000 people, in nearly 1,400 conservation projects in more than 120 countries, so that future generations may enjoy all the natural wonders the planet has to offer”. Accepting the Award on behalf of Earthwatch Institute was Sue Holden, Executive Director, Earthwatch Institute.
The second award honoured Singita – Place of Miracles, “in recognition of its vision and dedication to environmentally conscious hospitality, through the development of sustainable conservation programs and successful community projects resulting in the empowerment of local communities living and working around the twelve Singita lodges in Africa.” Accepting the Award on behalf of Singita was Elle Reinink, European Sales & Marketing, Singita.
The third award honoured GOOGLE, “in recognition for developing the cutting edge global social network platform and technology, GOOGLE GLASS that enabled committed photographers around the world to share their travel experiences in real time, directly into the homes of people whose mobility is limited”. Accepting the Award on behalf of Google was Lasse Wassermann, Senior Program Manager, Google.
The World Tourism Award, Inspire, is a specially handcrafted design by Mdina Glass, made on the Mediterranean Island of Malta, to celebrate the qualities of leadership and vision that inspire others to reach new heights.
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For more information about Earthwatch Institute, visit www.earthwatch.org
For more information about Singita, visit www.singita.com
For more information about GOOGLE Glass, visit www.google.com/glass/start/explorer-stories
For more information about Corinthia Hotels, visit www.corinthia.com
For more information about United Airlines, visit www.united.com
For more information about The International New York Times, visit www.nytimesglobal.com
About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
More than 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, now in its 35th year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM 2013 generated more than £2 billion of travel industry contracts, revealed independent research by Fusion Communications.
WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a other portfolio’s of travel industry events including IBTM Events, the world’s leading showcases for the meetings and events industry and International Luxury Travel Market events.
In 2013, RE held more than 500 events in 40 countries bringing together more than six million people from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 21 international events in 14 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.
Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf, ski and spa travel.
RTE is part of Reed Exhibitions.