UK’s Kent Downs in Top Global Ranking for Responsible Travel
Saturday, 20 Sep, 2009
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The Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has been long listed to the top eight global ‘Best Destinations’ in the 2009 Virgin Responsible Travel Awards.
The Responsible Tourism Awards are the most prestigious of their kind in the world. Founded and organised by online travel directory responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine and BBC World News, this years’ Awards have attracted nominations for a record number of almost 600 tourism organisations, destinations and individuals. Previous winners of the Best Destination category include New Zealand and the New Forest.
The Kent Downs AONB is one of eight organisations to be long listed in the Best Destination category, from an original 62 nominations. This category is for a resort, village or an entire country that manages tourism positively for the long-term benefit of visitors, conservation and local people.
There is extremely tough competition and a detailed appraisal process will be carried out. Nick Johannsen, Director of the Kent Downs AONB, said ‘we are absolutely delighted to have got this far. This recognises the hard work that my team and the AONB partnership has put into getting responsible travel to be a reality in the Kent Downs AONB. This has been achieved through the dedication of many Kent Downs’ communities and individual tourism businesses.’’
Amanda Cottrell Chairman of Visit Kent said "The Kent Downs AONB whole heartedly deserve this nomination. They have led the way in the county for a more responsible approach to tourism through the engagement of communities in welcoming visitors, extensive training for the local tourism industry and piloting of the Green Tourism Business Scheme."
Sarah Loftus, former Sustainable Tourism Officer for the AONB Unit, was responsible for the delivery of a series of projects that supported the development of responsible tourism in the Kent Downs. Each project involved working with Kent Downs’ communities to stimulate greater local involvement in addressing local tourism needs and also formed the basis of collaboration between tourism businesses and other stakeholders within each community. This led to a number of local groups becoming established, such as the Chilham Tourism & Retailers Group and First Light Coast & Country in St. Margaret’s, both of which have continued to develop and grow independently.
The 2009 Responsible Tourism Award winners will be announced at World Travel Market on Wednesday 11th November and in The Daily Telegraph the following weekend.
The Kent Downs AONB is a nationally protected landscape, covering about a quarter of the county of Kent including the North Downs and areas of the Greensand Ridge and Romney Marsh. The Kent Downs landscape is characterised by chalk hills, secluded valleys and a dramatic scarp with stunning views. A closer look uncovers a wealth of distinctive villages, narrow hedge-bound lanes and areas of chalk grassland, woodland and open farmland all waiting to be explored. The Kent Downs AONB Unit works in partnership with other organisations and local people. The Management Plan sets out a vision and actions to conserve and enhance this special landscape.
The Kent Downs AONB has been active in promoting sustainable rural tourism since 2004. A primary objective of the AONB Unit’s tourism development work is to protect and enhance this nationally protected landscape. Through pursuing co-operation and co-ordination of efforts with stakeholders in and around the Kent Downs, the project aims to:
- develop sustainable business practices within and around the AONB
- support and enable tourism businesses to contribute to rural regeneration
- develop responsible tourism linked to the conservation of the high quality environment
- develop a stronger identity for the AONB
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