Beijing to play host to highly-coveted eco travel awards

Since its recent stint in hosting the Olympics, (for better or worse) Beijing has been on the minds of the eco-travel-minded throughout the world.

Heading into its sixth year, the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Awards has selected the city of Beijing for its 2010 festivities.

The awards, aimed at recognizing best practices in sustainable tourism across the globe, focuses on the travel industry as concerns continue to grow over the cultivation and preservation of both cultural and natural resources. 

An independent panel of judges, including some of the world’s most authoritative experts of sustainable development, as well as a stringent application process involving on-site verification visits by these experts, has made the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards one of the most highly-coveted accolades in the industry.

Awards are based on four main categories, including:

• Destination Stewardship
  This award goes to a destination – country, region, state, or town – which comprises a network of tourism enterprises and organizations that show dedication to, and success in, maintaining a program of sustainable tourism management at the destination level, incorporating social, cultural, environmental, and economic aspects, as well as multi-stakeholder engagement.
• Conservation
  Open to any tourism business, organization, or attraction, including lodges, hotels, or tour operators, able to demonstrate that their tourism development and operations have made a tangible contribution to the conservation of natural heritage.
• Community Benefit
  This award is for a tourism initiative that has effectively demonstrated direct benefits to local people, including capacity building, the transfer of industry skills, and support for community development.
• Global Tourism Business
  Open to any large company from any sector of travel and tourism – cruise lines, hotel groups, airlines, tour operators, etc. – with at least 200 full-time employees and operating in more than one country or in more than one destination in a single country, this award recognizes best practices in sustainable tourism at a large company level.

The actual Tourism for Tomorrow Awards ceremony is slated to take place in May 2010, and is endorsed by WTTC members as well as other organizations and companies. They are organized in association with two Strategic Partners: Travelport and The Leading Travel Companies’ Conservation Foundation.

Other sponsors/supporters include: Adventures in Travel Expo, BEST Education Network, Breaking Travel News, the Daily Telegraph, eTurboNews, Friends of Nature, National Geographic Adventure and National Geographic Traveler, Planeterra, the Rainforest Alliance, Reed Travel Exhibitions, Sustainable Travel International, Tony Charters & Associates, Travelmole, Travesias, TTN Middle East, USA Today, and the World Heritage Alliance.

For more information, visit www.tourismfortomorrow.com.