This new category, part of the TTG Travel Awards 2019, was introduced this year to recognise travel companies for a specific project launched in the past 12 months, which might include minimising environmental impact, maximising local community benefit, or communicating with customers about sustainable tourism.
The eight initiatives selected as finalists are: Celebrity Cruises’ new Galapagos ship Flora, which has a raft of eco-friendly features; G Adventures’ Ripple Score ratings that assess the local economic contribution made by its tours; Hurtigruten’s world-first hybrid-fuel expedition ship; Intrepid Travel’s gender equality project to recruit more female tour leaders; Intrepid Group’s bid to become not just carbon neutral but climate positive by 2020; Kuoni’s Stay Beautiful initiative to introduce more sustainable practises across the business; and plastic reduction strategies from both Trafalgar Tours and Tui.
The finalists’ written submissions will now be judged by an expert panel including Justin Francis, chief executive of Responsibletravel.com; Fiona Jeffery OBE, founder of charity Just A Drop; and Vicky Smith, founder of Earth Changers.
Pippa Jacks, TTG Media’s group editor, said: “We are thrilled to be making responsible tourism an even bigger part of the TTG Travel Awards this year, aligning with TTG Media’s new vision – to promote a smarter, better, fairer travel industry.
“We hope by highlighting and celebrating the efforts of these travel businesses over the last year, we will inspire other travel companies to take a similar approach to making travel smarter, better and fairer for all.”
The winner will be announced at the TTG Travel Awards ceremony on Monday September 16, 2019. See ttgtravelawards.com to buy tickets.
