It’s not too late! says Responsible Travel as entries close on Monday 20th April 2015 for the World Responsible Tourism Awards at WTM, and past winners speak out about the benefits winning has had for their businesses.
The Awards, founded and organised by Responsible Travel and part of the world’ s largest event for responsible tourism action held on World Responsible Tourism Day at WTM London, are a global search for the most inspiring and enduring responsible holiday experiences in the world.
Although the entry deadline is looming Responsible Travel insist it is not too late to submit an entry. Participation is free and the initial submission is a straightforward process.
Justin Francis, managing director and founder of the Awards says “This year we are looking to tourism businesses and organisations to put themselves forward for consideration, rather than relying on public nominations.
“The submission form is an opportunity for each to introduce us to their work and to give an overview of what makes their responsible tourism initiatives stand out.
“There is certainly still time to enter the Awards. The submission form is simply the first stage of the process, which ultimately culminates in our ceremony at World Travel Market, London on Wednesday 4th November 2015.
“I’d want to encourage any businesses considering an entry to get in touch”.
Past winners have also been recently speaking out about the benefits winning the World Responsible Tourism Awards has had for their businesses.
TUI Nederland, overall winner in 2013 for an innovative project tackling child sex tourism in north-east Brazil commented “Winning the World Responsible Tourism Award gave our company a great amount of media coverage on our program ‘A Collective NO to Child Sex Tourism in North East Brazil’. Winning does not mean the job is done, it strengthens us in our belief that we are doing the right thing and we will continue doing so.”
Janine Duffy, at Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours, winners of the Best for Wildlife Conservation category in 2014 touched on the uplift in the company’s profile since their win “Government and Not-for-Profit organisations are, we believe, more inclined to engage with us now that we are recognised internationally. From a business point of view, we’ve never been busier. We’ve seen a 17% increase in sales in the first three months of 2015.”
Submitting an entry into the Award is a straightforward process. Simply go to http://www.worldresponsibletourismawards.com/submissions, click on the required category to download a submission form, complete it and return it to the World Responsible Tourism Awards Manager on awards@responsibletravel.com by Monday 20th April 2015.
The full list of categories for 2015 is as follows:
- Best Animal Welfare Initiative – supported by the Born Free Foundation
- Best for Beach Tourism – sponsored by Jersey Tourism
- Best Cultural Heritage Attraction – sponsored by Wightlink
- Best Destination for Responsible Tourism – sponsored by Visit Norway
- Best Accommodation for Disability Access – sponsored by Enable Holidays
- Best for Engaging People & Culture
- Best Hotel for Local Sourcing – sponsored by Colorado Tourism
- Best Innovation for Carbon Reduction
- Best for Poverty Reduction
- Best Blog for Responsible Tourism – sponsored by Fair Trade Tourism
- Best Sea or River Cruise
- Best for Wildlife Conservation – sponsored by the Florida Keys & Key West Tourist Development Council
- People’s Choice in Responsible Tourism
-Ends-
Notes to editors
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.
Almost 51,500 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 36th year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals. WTM 2014 will generate around £2.5 billion of travel industry contracts.
World Travel Market is part of Reed Travel Exhibition’s WTM portfolio, which also includes Arabian Travel Market, World Travel Market Latin America and World Travel Market Africa. www.wtmworld.com
About the World Responsible Tourism Awards
For more information on the World Responsible Tourism Awards visit www.worldresponsibletourismawards.com
Now in their 12th year, the World Responsible Tourism Awards were founded in 2004 to celebrate the most inspiring stories in responsible tourism.
The Awards are organised by Responsible Travel and ICRT (International Centre for Responsible Tourism). The Awards ceremony is hosted by World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, during World Responsible Tourism Day, the world’s largest event for responsible tourism which this year takes place on Wednesday 4th November.
This year, the Awards feature 13 categories covering a variety of topics, which reflect the hottest issues currently debated in the world or responsible and sustainable tourism. For the first year tourism businesses and organisations around the world can submit themselves for consideration. The only Award that will remain publically voted is the People’s Choice Award. Submissions are welcome between 2nd March – 20th April 2015. Public voting for the People’s Choice will be open May – early June.
Follow Awards news and updates on Twitter: @RTAwards or #WRTA2015 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/responsibletourismawards where you can also find stories from our previous international winners.
About Responsible Travel:
Responsible Travel is the world’s leading market place for small and tailor-made tour operators, all screened for their commitment to responsible tourism.
Responsible Travel connects these operators with people looking for real & authentic holidays. Starting with just 2 tour operators in 2001 we’ve become the leading place to find tours from over 400 small & specialist tour companies in 197 countries. As tourism grows globally the opportunity for authentic experiences diminishes, and the impacts of tourism on places & local people (not always positive) grows. We’ve found the secret to authentic travel is treating local people & places responsibly.
In addition Responsible Travel:
– campaigns for positive change in the travel and tourism industry.
– is publishing an expanding collection of open, honest travel guides
CEO Justin Francis has been included in Courvoisiers The Future 500, Thames and Hudsons 60 Innovators Shaping Our Creative Future and taken his place on the Advisory Board of The International Centre for Responsible Tourism.
The company is based in Brighton’s North Laine district, England.
Contact:
Sarah Bareham
World Responsible Tourism Awards Manager
awards@responsibletravel.com
01273 829269