Written by Responsible Tourism Initiative on 16 Nov 2010
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The winners and finalists of the 2010 Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Awards have demonstrated exemplary practices in responsible tourism by providing quality travel experiences that conserve natural environments, wildlife, and benefit local communities by providing a sustainable livelihood for the future.
The winners of our awards have to meet the standards the Wild Asia responsible tourism checklist, which is based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. In addition to the checklist, all applicants have to provide detailed responses to several questions relating to the sustainability of their operations.
How does it work?
Each year a variety of applicants from different sectors enter the awards. There are 4 categories, including Large sized accommodation operators (more than 50 rooms), Small and Medium sized accommodation (fewer than 50 rooms), Community and Homestay accommodation, and Tour Operators.
The first step is for the operators to fill out the self assessed RT checklist. Checklists are verified and shortlisted by the Wild Asia responsible tourism team. The shortlisted operators will fill our an advanced form, consisting of 10 open ended questions about their RT practices and the sustainability of their operation. The judging panel then chooses the top two finalists for each category, resulting in a total of eight finalists.
The Wild Asia RT team personally visits each finalist. The fact finding team is made up of an advisor and a media liaison. During site visits, the team will verify the checklist, explore all aspects of the operation, and document the best practices through photography and video recordings. This valuable information is all reported back to the judging panel, which is made up of experienced conservationists, RT academics, educators, trainers and leaders. Read about our site visits here.
Main judging criteria:
- Understanding tourism impact
- Sense of Place
- Sustaining RT efforts
- Communication
- Internalization
- Sphere of influence
- Continual improvement
The Judges
Dr Reza Azmi, founder and executive director of Wild Asia
The workshop will be led by Wild Asia Founder and Director Dr Reza Azmi. A strategic thinker, Reza has had over 12 years of experience in understanding the issues of sustainable tourism. He has been involved in field to policy projects in nature conservation and sustainable development. His formal background has been with biodiversity conservation: taxonomy, ecology and researching the relationships between communities and natural resources. He currently specializes in looking at ways in which businesses can play a positive role in the local environments they operate in.
Gonthong Lourdesamy, environmental educator and general manager of Wild Asia
Gonthong Lourdesamy is the General Manager for Wild Asia. She studied Marine Science and Environmental Biology in University of Kasetsart and Mahidol University. Her first environmental teaching career was as a Scuba diving instructor. She left the sea to teach environmental education as Director of the EE program on Chao Phraya River. This position involved leading trips to the Chao Phraya for international students and exposed them to environmental awareness firsthand. She has also worked on various independent education projects including: Thai NGO in energy conservation, environmental projects, conscious consumption, sustainability, as well as facilitating workshops and trainings for teachers, park rangers, and professionals throughout Thailand and neighbouring countries.
Ian Hall, founder and director of Arkitrek
Ian Hall, a British architect, worked with Raleigh International and Yayasan Sabah in 2004 designing facilities for ecological research and eco-tourism deep in the rainforests of Sabah; Maliau Basin, Danum Valley and Imbak Canyon. Since then he has remained in Malaysia, founding Arkitrek, a company based on the principle that buildings in the rainforest must first be critically justified and should then have minimum impact.
Sarah Loftus, responsible tourism consultant and Travelife Sustainability System auditor
Sarah is a UK-based responsible tourism consultant, building on extensive experience of developing responsible tourism in a protected landscape. This follows 17 years in the hotel industry where she was with the Leading Hotels of the World and Singapore based Meritus Hotels & Resorts. Sarah is also setting up the Kent Sustainable Tourism Network in her home country - a social enterprise that will provide support and advice on sustainable business practices to Kent's tourism industry.
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Wild Asia's Responsible Tourism Initiative aims to promote the best practices of sustainable tourism among businesses in Asia. Our goal is to demonstrate that there are clear financial incentives for doing the right thing within the tourism industry as well as helping green tourists identify eco-fri... more inside »
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