LAUNCH OF THE VIRGIN HOLIDAYS RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AWARDS 2008
Nominations open today for the Responsible Tourism Awards 2008 sponsored by Virgin Holidays. The Awards celebrate tourism ventures around the world that make a positive contribution to conservation and the economies of local communities.
Organised and founded by online travel directory responsibletravel.com, the Awards are once again run in association with World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine (the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society). This year, The Daily Telegraph is the Awards’ UK newspaper partner and Virgin Holidays is again the headline sponsor.
High profile support for the Awards
An array of celebrity and high profile commentators, including Michael Palin, Ben Fogle, Pen Hadow, Alain de Botton and Rosie Boycott, has already offered words of support for this year’s Awards (see http://www.responsibletourismawards.com/).
Palin said:
"Getting to know more about each other remains one of the most important hopes for the peaceful future of the planet. If we are really to understand each other better, then we need to be reminded to travel carefully and thoughtfully, listening to people along the way and respecting the world we are privileged to travel through. The Responsible Tourism Awards are one of the most important ways in which we can understand how to travel better."
Now in their fifth year, the Awards are the largest of their kind in the world, with 13 categories receiving a total of over 1,700 nominations in 2007.
Justin Francis, co-founder of the online travel directory responsibletravel.com, organisers and founders of the Awards, said:
"More and more destinations, travel ventures (both large and small), tourist boards and travellers around the globe, are signing up to the concept of responsible tourism. Not only is it a more enjoyable and authentic way to travel but it is also the only way forward if travel is to have a sustainable future. Our Awards aim to recognise and encourage the passionate pioneers who are helping to bring about real, positive and lasting change in the tourism industry."
New Best Responsible Cruise Operator category
New for 2008, is the Best Responsible Cruise Operator category. Commenting on the introduction of this new category, Francis said:
"This brand new category for 2008 aims to reward those cruise (and ferry) companies who are taking innovative steps to put responsible tourism at the very core of their business – both environmentally speaking as well as culturally and socially. Until more recently, these industry sectors have escaped the scrutiny faced by others such as airlines and tour operators, but we hope this Award will further encourage companies to ride the wave of change ."
How to nominate
Nominations should be made online at http://www.responsibletourismawards.com/or by post to responsibletravel.com, Pavilion House, 6 Old Steine, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1EJ, and include the name and contact details of the nomination (website, email, address and telephone number if possible), plus up to 200 words on why you believe they should win a Responsible Tourism Award. The category of entry should also be specified (please see below).
Nominations close on: Monday 16th June 2008
Win a prize holiday!
Those individuals who nominate a category winner will be entered into a draw to win a 15 day tour of India with Real World Adventures by Virgin Holidays & Intrepid Travel. Full details can be found on http://www.responsibletourismawards.com/
Responsible Tourism Award categories
As in previous years, there are 13 categories in which to nominate:
- Best responsible tour operator – sponsored by The Adventure Company
- Best large accommodation – sponsored by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
- Best small accommodation - sponsored by VisitBrighton
- Best in a mountain environment – sponsored by Exodus
- Best in a marine environment
- Best responsible cruise operator *New for 2008*
- Best for low carbon transport or technology – sponsored by Maison de la France
- Best for conservation of endangered species or protected area – sponsored by South Australian Tourism Commission
- Best for conservation of cultural heritage – sponsored by Jamaica Tourist Board
- Best for poverty reduction
- Best volunteering organisation
- Best destination – sponsored by Conservation International
- Best personal contribution
Words from our partners
Amanda Wills, Managing Director of Virgin Holidays said:
"Virgin Holidays enters its second year as headline sponsor of the 2008 Responsible Tourism Awards, and we are delighted. Recognising those in our industry that put sustainability on the agenda and keep it there, mirrors our own position as a tour operator taking an active role in shaping a sustainable reality for travel. We see these awards as an outward statement of our continued commitment to sustainable tourism solutions, as new community projects, research and industry partnerships drive our own efforts and progress behind the scenes at Virgin Holidays."
Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of World Travel Market, the world’s leading business event for the international travel and tourism industry, which hosts the Awards at London ExCeL, said that Wednesday 12 November – when the Responsible Tourism Awards are announced – is a momentous day for travel and tourism, both in the UK and globally.
"The presentation of the Awards coincides with WTM’s World Responsible Tourism Day, now in its second year and supported by the leading travel associations worldwide. It’s a signal that the international industry is undergoing a huge step change, with recognition that action across the whole spectrum of tourism, can and is making a real difference to the world in which we live.
"This follows a much bigger and growing change in people’s thinking and social conscience; that choosing a holiday is not just about the size of the swimming pool or the charm of the locality, but also about how their presence may impact on the local community, as well as the planet, be it positively or negatively."
Graham Boynton, Group Travel Editor, Daily Telegraph said:
"We have reached a point in our development where we can no longer travel without conscience. Even those of us who are the most self-interested of creatures, indifferent to the state of the planet, will have to shape up and start travelling responsibly. Just the sight of the great cathedrals of ice at the two poles melting and collapsing before our eyes should galvanise us into action, and as the evidence continues to mount up it is clear that we no longer have a choice."
The judging panel
The judging panel for the Responsible Tourism Awards 2008 is chaired by Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University & Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, and includes:
Justin Francis, Managing Director, responsibletravel.com
Graham Boynton, Group Travel Editor, The Daily Telegraph
Fiona Jeffery, Chairman, World Travel Market
Graeme Gourlay, Publisher, Geographical Magazine
Tricia Barnett, Director, Tourism Concern
Andrew Cooper, Director General, Federation of Tour Operators (FTO)
Debbie Hindle, Managing Director, bgb communications
Sue Hurdle, Chief Executive, The Travel Foundation
Ian Reynolds, former Chief Executive of ABTA & Trustee of The Travel Foundation
Keith Richards, Head of Business Development and Consumer Affairs at ABTA
