Winners of Tourism for Tomorrow Awards revealed

The World Travel & Tourism Council has announced the winners of its Tourism for Tomorrow Awards at a ceremony which took place in Seville during its Global Summit.

The winners of the awards, which aim to celebrate ‘inspirational, world-changing’ tourism initiatives from around the world are:

* Climate Action Award – Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Aruba
* Investing in People Award – Lemon Tree Hotels Limited, India
* Destination Stewardship Award – St. Kitts Sustainable Destination Council, St. Kitts and Nevis
* Social Impact Award – Awamaki, Peru
* Changemakers Award – SEE Turtles, USA

The Awards were judged by a panel of independent experts, led by Prof. Graham Miller, executive Dean, Professor of Sustainability in Business at the University of Surrey.The panel included academics, business leaders, NGO and governmental representatives who narrowed down the list of 183 applications to 15 finalists.

Fiona Jeffery, chair of the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, said: ‘The aim of the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards is to showcase some of the most exceptional examples of sustainable tourism practices in the world, and inspire and encourage our industry to make a positive impact for both current and future generations.

"Over 15 years, we have seen the industry make great strides towards achieving these goals and we can see positive change happening.

"Our recent survey results show that 67% of travellers would consider a travel company’s sustainability agenda when booking a trip, whilst 48% of travellers would now pay more money to travel sustainably.

"Whilst there is still more to be done, we must harness the momentum for change to protect the product that sustains our very own industry."

During the summit, WTTC also announced the formation of a global taskforce against human trafficking, which affects 30 million victims worldwide.

The taskforce comprises WTTC members and sector associations to become the first global industry-wide initiative to assert zero tolerance and share best practice. 

As an ‘industry’, human trafficking is worth $150 billion annually, and contributes heavily to modern slavery, said WTTC. A quarter of trafficking victims worldwide are children and 19% of victims are trafficked for sex.

The founding members of the taskforce are Airbnb, Amex GBT, The Bicester Village Shopping Collection, Ctrip.com International, CWT, Emirates, Expedia Group, Hilton, JTB Corp, Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority, Marriott International, Silversea, Thomas Cook and TUI. 

WTTC president and CEO Gloria Guevara said: "Human trafficking is a devastating, widespread and critical issue that unfortunately relies on travel and tourism networks to operate. 

"As a sector, we must do everything in our power to help eradicate the problem so that people may move freely and safely across the globe, but never coerced. 

"I am proud to today launch this vital taskforce comprised of the world’s most powerful travel leaders from across hotels, retail, airlines, cruise, technology, finance and destination management, and are wholly committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims, supporting survivors and engaging with governments so that this pandemic ends once and for all."