WTTC Announces Finalists for 2017 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards

On Monday, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced the 15 finalists for its 2017 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

The 13th WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards will highlight business practices of the highest standards, balancing the needs of people, planet and profits within the travel industry. The awards fall within the United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

To determine the finalists, the WTTC used a three-phase judging system. One of the companies highlighted in the finalists announcement was G Adventures, which is a group adventure travel company that offers socially and environmentally sensitive travel.

The winners of the awards will be announced during a ceremony at the 17th WTTC Global Summit, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 26 and 27.

“I am extremely pleased to once again see such inspiring business leadership amongst this year’s Finalists,” WTTC CEO David Scowsill said in a statement. “This year saw a 36 percent rise of applications, which shows not only that more and more Travel & Tourism companies are looking to operate sustainably but also an increased interest to share company best practices and thereby educate peers and governments.”

“The 2017 Finalists illustrate how widespread the notion of sustainable tourism has become,” Tourism for Tomorrow Awards lead judge Graham Miller said in a statement. “While sustainability used to be focused around the preservation of nature, this year, the organization’s missions are, amongst other things, centered around innovative value creation for societies, travel technology for those with accessibility needs, and empowerment of the young workforce.”

Here are the finalists of the 2017 WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, via the council’s official website:

Community Award Finalists, whose organizations are committed to sustainable tourism leadership in local community development, empowerment and cultural heritage

•Cinnamon Wild Yala, Sri Lanka

•G Adventures, Canada

•Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

Destination Award Finalists, who show commitment to supporting and delivering sustainable tourism best practices in their destinations:

•Botswana Tourism Organisation, Botswana

•City of Bydgoszcz, Poland

•Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, Finland

Environment Award Finalists, whose organizations and companies achieved environmental best practice through biodiversity conservation, protection of natural habitats, addressing climate change, and green operations:

•Biosphere Expeditions, UK

•Caiman Ecological Refuge, Brazil

•Misool, Indonesia

Innovation Award Finalists, who provided innovative solutions to overcoming the challenges faced by Travel & Tourism in implementing sustainability in practice:

•NATIVE Hotels and Accessible Tourism, Spain

•Soel Yachts, Netherlands

•The Mapping Ocean Wealth initiative led by the Nature Conservancy, USA

People Award Finalists, who are dedicated to the development of capacity building, training and education to build a skilled tourism workforce for the future:

•Desert & Delta Safaris, Botswana

•STREETS International, Vietnam

•The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation’s China Hospitality Education Initiative (CHEI), China

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