Wild Asia Announces 2010 Responsible Tourism Awards

Wild Asia, a Malaysian social enterprise, recently announced the opening of the Responsible Tourism Awards 2010 for accommodation operators and tour operators throughout Asia. The enterprise works to support the conservation of natural areas and the communities dependent upon their resources.

Why Responsible Tourism?

Tourism, one of the world’s largest growing industries benefiting from natural heritage, is rapidly taking its toll on the environment and contributing to the exploitation of local communities. For this reason, principles of Responsible Tourism (RT) aim to reduce disastrous outcomes by promoting the implementation of sustainable management practices. RT focuses on reducing negative impacts on the environment, safeguarding natural resources, and respecting and empowering local communities, thereby protecting the very things that tourists travel to Asia for.

Travellers are becoming more aware of their impact on the environment and local communities and are beginning to seek out socially and environmentally responsible businesses. Catering to this market demand, tourism operators adopting the principles of RT examine details that influence the sustainability of their company’s operations – from the way hotels are built, to the protection of natural and cultural aspects surrounding their properties, and ensuring that local communities benefit from the business.

In recognising the good efforts of accommodation providers in embracing and internalizing the principles of responsible tourism in their day-to-day conduct, Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Awards rewards hotels and tour packages which can serve as role models to others in the industry. The only tourism award of its kind in Asia, the acknowledgment of positive steps taken towards becoming more responsible operators, as well as their willingness to share knowledge and learning, would inspire meaningful change from within the travel industry.

Award Categories

Encompassing legal, environmental, social and economic elements of the tourism business, Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Award checklist is aligned to the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, launched by the Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation, and United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) during the World Conservation Congress in October 2008. The criteria serve as the fundamental standard every tourism business should aspire to comply with, in order to protect and sustain natural and cultural resources.

The principles of Responsible Tourism ought to be embraced by accommodation providers and tour operators both big and small. For Wild Asia’s Awards, the businesses are categorized based on their rooming capacity, i.e. large (more than 50 rooms), small to mid-size (less than 50 rooms); and community-based accommodation providers (mostly under 10 rooms). This year, due to popular demand, Wild Asia has a new category for tour operators. The tour operators must choose one responsible tour package that they run for the awards entry.

Wild Asia works to support environmental and social initiatives in Asia, with their ultimate goal being to promote sustainable practices that will minimise adverse impacts on the environment, ensure that local communities are engaged and that local cultures are respected.

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