Australian tour operator Intrepid Travel was among the winners of the global Tourism for Tomorrow Awards announced at the opening of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) summit in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.
Intrepid Travel won the Global Tourism Business Award for best practice in sustainable tourism at a large company, a category in which it was nominated alongside Shangri-La Hotels and Sabre Holdings.
Alpine Pearls, based in Austria, won the Destination Stewardship Award for sustainable tourism management.
The Guludo Beach Lodge in Mozambique won the Community Benefit Award for providing benefits to local people. And Singita Pamushana in Zimbabwe won the Conservation Award for its part in helping to rehabilitate and protect the Malilangwe wildlife reserve.
The Malilangwe reserve protects endangered black and white rhino and other wildlife. It employs more than 200 staff – almost all local – and provides drinking water to more than 10,000 villagers in the area.
The Guludo Beach Lodge, in the Quirimbas National Park, runs a charity that works with local groups on eradicating malaria, providing clean water and healthcare.
Alpine Pearls has transformed the traffic in Alpine communities in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and France by operating solar-powered vehicles and offering low carbon public transport and free bicycles for tourists.
The head of London’s World Travel Market and charity Just A Drop, Fiona Jeffery, was among 22 judges who selected the winners from more than 200 entries. The award winners were chosen from 12 final nominees following on-site inspections.
Chairman of the judges Costas Christ said: “One day there will be no need for awards like this. Sustainability will simply be another part of travel and tourism.”