Contribute to sustainable tourism in the Ecuadorian Amazon

CEO of Advantage Travel and Anakonda Amazon Cruises, Raul Garcia, has been nominated for PURE Awards 2018’s Contribution to Experiential Travel honor. Garcia is one of five contestants shortlisted for the award. The annual trade show describes the honor as going to an “individual whose efforts have directly influenced the development of the experiential travel movement.”

Driven by a desire to conserve and explore the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest, Raul Garcia has spent over 40 years promoting responsible tourism and introducing people from all over the world to the ancestral communities of the Amazon. Raul founded the first and only luxury river cruise in the Ecuadorian Amazon—the Anakonda. On the 25th anniversary of his successful travel agency, Advantage Travel, Raul unveiled a second vessel, the Manatee, in July 2017. By developing a model where the local communities of the rainforest share in the profits of the industry, Raul has helped to promote sustainable tourism in the region.


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Rejuvenation for Ko Phi Phi’s famed Maya Bay

MAYA Bay in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park will not allow visitors during a much needed four-month rejuvenation period from 1 June to 30 September, 2018. The DNP announced at a press conference held on 15 May that access to Maya Bay will be strictly off limits during the four-month rejuvenation. It will not allow boats to enter the bay in front of the beach, or even drop anchor at nearby Loh Samah Bay.

Travellers can still catch a glimpse of the Bay’s stunning beauty, made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie ‘The Beach’ at a 400-metre distance, or between the two cliffs that form a natural entrance to the lagoon. But this will be strictly supervised and carefully monitored by the DNP. During the four-month period, the DNP will undertake a coastal and marine environment quality evaluation study on the condition of reef and beach resources, environmental control, and tourism management.

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Paris, a green and eco-responsible destination

IN addition to its 460 public parks and gardens, #Paris has important ecological aspects that tourists can experience. Non-motorized and public modes of transport are favoured: the creation of bus lanes, the extension of the Paris tramway, the development of self-service bicycles and Autolib’, 16 highly-efficient metro lines — despite being over a century old.

The pedestrianization of the riverside expressways (Left Bank since 2013, Right Bank since September 2016) with the creation of the Parc Rives de Seine, and the redeveloped Place de la République also contribute to making the city greener and more dynamic. The Place de la Nation is soon to be redeveloped as well as the iconic Place de la Bastille, where the lower part of the Colonne de Juillet will be open to the public, from 2018. 

The Parisian hotel sector continues to be more committed to eco-responsible initiatives — more than 460 Parisian establishments have signed the Tourist Office’s Charter ‘For Sustainable Accommodation in Paris’, and the adoption of ecological labels continues to increase. 

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Going Wild

NEW responsible wildlife packages have bolstered Adventure World’s newly released 2018/19 India and Asia portfolio. As a longstanding partner with World Animal Protection [WAP], Adventure World strictly adheres to a policy of no elephant rides in any of its programs and in partnership with The TreadRight Foundation and Wildlife SOS, Adventure World is supporting the development of an Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura, Uttar, India. 

New for 2018 is a dedicated Wildlife of Sri Lanka program where clients explore the lesser known Wilpattu National Park, home to a vast number of Sri Lankan leopards. Along with big cats there is the chance to see elephants, sloth bears and an array of other wildlife and flora on a thrilling Jeep safari. The program also includes an infrared night safari in Yala National Park and a day at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Horton Plains. 

Birding enthusiasts will be drawn to the new Jungles, Wildlife & Temples itinerary in Cambodia which features a lodge stay in the isolated village of Tmatboey, famous for the conservation of the giant ibis, Cambodia’s national bird. Clients can enjoy a series of wildlife and birding treks with local naturalists. 

In Indonesia, the new Kaliman tan Orangutans by Houseboat allows travellers to explore the wonders of Tanjung, putting by houseboat, cruising languid waters, surrounded by jungle and encounter wild orangutans. 

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UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism : Call for applications

APPLICATIONS for the 14th edition of the UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism by the World Tourism Organization are now being accepted. Winners will be announced in January 2018 on the occasion of the UNWTO Awards Ceremony, to be held at the International Tourism Fair in Spain (FITUR).

Applications for the UNWTO Awards span four categories: Public Policy and Governance; Enterprises; Non-Governmental Organizations, and Research and Technology.

Since their creation in 2003, the UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism recognize the work of organizations and individuals around the world that contribute to foster innovation in tourism and build a more sustainable and responsible sector.

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Seychelles signs sustainable tourism charter

THE #Seychelles minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Alain St.Ange, signed the African Charter on Sustainable and Responsible Tourism during the recent UN climate change talks in Morocco. The document aims to provide the African continent with a common framework to promote best practices in #sustainable #tourism.

As a country that relies on the travel industry, Seychelles has been particularly active in preserving its natural heritage.

As much as 50% of the Seychelles’ territory consists of protected National Parks and the country has gone so far as to limit the number of tourist beds per island to ensure that tourism growth does not come at the expense of the environment.

Seychelles is found to have the purest air on the planet by the 2016 Environmental Performance Index and it is currently developing renewable energy sources.

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Picture Credit: Isabelle Odent flickr.com/photos/132229963@N04/31107165100 Seychelles 2016 via photopin

Responsible Travel awards – longlist published

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL has announced the names of the 75 organizations longlisted for the 2016 World #Responsible #Tourism award.

Organizations in the running for the most rigorously judged awards for responsible tourism in the world cover a diverse range of issues from campaigning and innovation to poverty reduction and the inclusion of marginalized people, and from hotels with exemplary employment initiatives to wildlife and habitat conservation.

Representing a diversity of work in 30 countries worldwide, the longlist includes:

• A hotel in Dubai rescuing, rehabilitating and re-releasing turtles and educating guests and local children about conservation 
• An association of hotels and restaurants in Kerala, India, working to ensure food isn’t wasted and that no-one in their community goes hungry 
• A tour operator in India making heritage sites, street food markets, and festivals accessible to all through sensory tours and tailored assistance 
• A campaign to stop child abuse in tourism in Cambodia 
• A hotel offering employment and training to refugees in Austria

Justin Francis, managing director of Responsible Travel and founder of the Awards says: ‘This is an exciting time of year – it’s when we first get our real glimpse into diversity of the stellar work being done in responsible tourism worldwide.’

The shortlist of finalists will be published in August, and the winners will be announced at the World Travel Market in London in November.

The full longlist can be seen at www.responsibletravel.com/awards/media/longlist.html


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Awards for responsible tourism

TOURISM BUSINESSES and organizations are being invited to submit an entry for the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2016. 

The global search for the world’s most inspirational examples of responsible tourism in action kicks off with entries being accepted into five categories spanning issues across the tourism industry.

The announcement of the 2016 winners, at World Travel Market (WTM) London, will this year be part of the celebrations marking 10 years of World #ResponsibleTourism Day.

New categories for 2016 include the ‘Best responsible tourism campaign’ which aims to celebrate the most successful marketing or advocacy campaigns in encouraging and promoting a more responsible style of travel.

The importance of the awards in assessing how far responsible tourism has developed, and how much it been achieved in the last decade is not lost on the chairman of the judging panel, Professor Harold Goodwin of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism. ‘Through the awards winners every year, we see the standard of what is being achieved by people taking responsibility for tourism getting higher and higher. And every year we see more and more countries represented in our entries.

‘Tourism, if sold, enjoyed, and organized responsibly is of global importance, and our winners this year will set the standard to which all tourism businesses should aspire.’

Awards judge Simon Press, senior exhibition director for World Travel Market London, adds: ‘The World Responsible Tourism Awards at WTM London are a central pillar of the success of World Responsible Tourism Day. The winners and shortlisted companies act as a benchmark and inspiration for what the global travel and tourism industry can achieve in responsible tourism practice.’

The 2016 categories:

• Best accommodation for responsible employment 
• Best contribution to wildlife conservation 
• Best innovation by a tour operator 
• Best for poverty reduction and inclusion 
• Best responsible tourism campaign

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