New Zealand wins top award for responsible tourism

New Zealand was announced as this year’s winner at The Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards, organised by responsibletravel.com. The country also scooped the Best Destination Award for its national, strategic approach to responsible tourism.

At a ceremony hosted at World Travel Market (WTM), Docklands, London, on Wednesday 12 November, the Awards were handed out by Justin Francis, managing director of responsibletravel.com, organisers and founders of the Awards, and Amanda Wills, managing director of Virgin Holidays, headline sponsor of the Awards.

The panel of judges declared New Zealand the overall winner for "proving that it is possible to develop a national strategy which uses tourism to help make better places to live and to visit."

The judges said: "New Zealand has implemented many of the principles of the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations and demonstrated what national government can achieve - working with the private sector, local communities and local government - by harnessing tourism to benefit their people and their environment. If more national governments followed their example, tourism would make a much more positive contribution around the world."

An additional 13 awards were presented in a range of categories which included Best for Poverty Reduction, Best Volunteering Organisation, Best Personal Contribution, Best Large Hotel and new for 2008 - Best Cruise or Ferry Operator.

Justin Francis, founder of The Responsible Tourism Awards and managing director, responsibletravel.com, organisers of the Awards said:

“In this, the fifth year of the Awards, the bar has been raised for responsible tourism yet again. What inspires me is the efforts that businesses and destinations are making to ensure that responsible tourism lies at the heart of their strategies and plans. Without a doubt, this is the only way to plan for the future - responsible travel is not a passing fad or a niche travel trend for marketing purposes. It is an entire, holistic approach to tourism operations."

Amanda Wills, managing director, Virgin Holidays, headline sponsor of the Awards said:

“As headline sponsor for a second year, I have been both moved and inspired by the winners this year. Certainly there is much to learn from them, and it was a privilege to recognise and celebrate their efforts in this arena. It’s in the doing not the saying that we as an industry will make a difference, the winners lead the way.”

Launched in 2004, the Awards are organised by responsibletravel.com and run in association with partners World Travel Market, The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine and BBC World News.

See responsibletourismawards.com for further information.