Tui UK and Ireland was among the winners of this year’s Global Responsible Tourism Awards announced on Monday.
The operator won the tourism inclusivity award, one of six awards announced at the launch of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) Global in London. The awards, now in their 20th year, have previously been announced on the opening day of World Travel Market.
Tui’s accessible holidays strategy team won the award after partnering with AccessAble to develop hotel access guides for guests and with Sign Live to provide interpreting services for sign language users.
More: Special Report: Global Centre for Responsible Tourism launched in London
The Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, Lodge and Foundation in South Africa won the award for upskilling local communities. The lodge trains and mentors staff, supports local producers, and provides free skills and business training through its Green Futures College.
Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka, which secures 60% of its energy from renewable sources, won the award for climate action. In 2023, the company generated enough solar energy across its properties to power 13,490 households.
Crees Manu in Peru won the Nature Positive Award for its tours and volunteering in the Manu Biosphere Reserve. Crees has conserved over 600 hectares of forest and works with educational programmes to benefit local people and conserve biodiversity.
Sivatel Bangkok Hotel in Thailand received the award for local sourcing. The hotel sources 70% of its food ingredients organically and achieved zero food waste to landfill in 2023 through partnering with local farmers and producers.
Rajasthan Studio in India, which curates art experiences with master artisans in Rajasthan, won the award for championing cultural diversity.
The six winners were selected from among 33 regional gold award winners in Africa, Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia and a rest of the world category.
Harold Goodwin, founder of ICRT Global, said: “Too often the term sustainable is used only in an abstract sense. Responsible tourism requires us to say what we’re doing to make tourism better and to be transparent about what we achieve.”
The awards were sponsored by Sabre whose head of sustainability communications Tess Longfield said: “Judging the awards has once again left me in awe of the extraordinary work being done.”