The Virgin Responsible Tourism award winners were announced as part of the World Responsible Tourism Day in the WTM 2012.
At a ceremony hosted at World Travel Market, ExCel, London, on November 7th 2012 as part of World Responsible Tourism Day, the Awards were handed out by Justin Francis, Managing Director of responsibletravel.com, organisers and founders of the Awards, and Amanda Wills, Managing Director of Virgin Holidays, in their third year as headline sponsor of the Awards.
Overall winners Reality Tours and Travel demonstrate that it is possible for tourists to tour a slum in India in a responsible way. Established in 2005, they offer city and village tours in Mumbai and beyond. This Award is for their educational Dharavi Slum Tours.
The Awards Judges said: “We were really impressed by this fully integrated approach to realising the social purpose of using tourism to raise awareness of the reality of slum life, good and bad, and to raise money from its business and its customers to assist the community in Dharavi to develop. It has developed a form of Responsible Tourism that deserves to be adapted and replicated elsewhere; for this reason, as well as its own substantial achievements, we have selected Reality Tours and Travel as the 2012 Overall Winner of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards.”
An additional 14 awards were presented in a range of categories;
- Best accommodation for local communities,
- Best accommodation for the environment,
- Best carbon reduction initiative,
- Best destination for conserving & presenting architectural heritage,
- Best engagement with people & cultures,
- Best for conservation of wildlife & habitats,
- Best for poverty reduction,
- Best in a marine environment,
- Best in a mountain environment,
- Best in responsible tourism writing,
- Best in responsible transport,
- Best innovation
- Best tour operator for promoting responsible tourism and
- Best volunteering organisation
Justin Francis said: “Once again we reveal the responsible tourism agenda setters, the remarkable winners of the Responsible Tourism Awards. We’ve cast the net far and wide and received over 1,000 nominations for organisations of all sizes and types globally. It gives me great confidence that responsible tourism is flourishing, and provides further inspiration for our industry.”
Amanda Wills said: “The Responsible Tourism Awards serve to remind us of what can be achieved with ingenuity, passion and commitment. They are also an opportunity for us to stop, be inspired, and remember why being ‘responsible’ in business should be – must be – second nature.”
Launched in 2004, the Awards are run in association with partners World Travel Market, Metro Newspaper, Geographical Magazine and ICRETH at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Overall winner: Reality Tours and Travel, Mumbai, India
Best accommodation for local communities, sponsored by Caribbean Tourism Organisation
Soria Moria Boutique Hotel, Siem Riep near Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Best accommodation for the environment, sponsored by Visit California
Song Saa Private Island
Best carbon reduction initiative, sponsored by Johannesburg Tourism
Sawadee Reizen
Best destination for conserving architectural heritage, sponsored by Gibraltar Tourist Board
St Kilda, Scotland
Best engagement with people and cultures, sponsored by Oman Ministry of Tourism
South Nottingham College in Partnership with The Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia
Best for conservation of wildlife and habitats, sponsored by Rainbow Tours
Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, Chile
Best for poverty reduction, sponsored by Tourism KwaZulu Natal
Reality Tours and Travel
Best in a marine environment, sponsored by Tourism Fiji
Moonraker Dolphin Swims, Australia
Best in a mountain environment, sponsored by Visit Norway
3 Sisters Adventure Trekking
Best in responsible tourism writing, sponsored by Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board
Emma Thomson
Best in responsible transport, sponsored by Wightlink
Big Lemon Bus Company, UK and Green Tomato Cars, UK and Australia
Best innovation, sponsored by Jamaica Tourist Board
The Nature Observatorio Amazing Treehouse, Costa Rica
Best tour operator for promoting responsible tourism, sponsored by Slovenian Tourist Board
Explore
Best volunteering organisation, sponsored by Tourism Authority of Thailand
Elephant Human Relations Aid
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
