Virtuoso Life - March/April 2009 - (Page 52) GO GREEN all taken trips to places we loved, only to return several years later to discover that out-of-control development and poor planning have spoiled the area, leaving behind pollution, loss of cultural authenticity, and in some worst-case scenarios, poverty and exploitation. The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are part of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Blueprint for New Tourism, a call to action for one of the largest industries on earth – travel and tourism – to look beyond short-term considerations and focus on long-term benefits to local communities and their respective natural, social, and cultural environments. That is why when WTTC asked me to be the chairman of judges for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards in 2004, I eagerly accepted. Over the years, across six continents and dozens of countries, I have evaluated more than 100 hotels, tour companies, and destinations that are helping safeguard tourism’s future – and our own – by nurturing natural and cultural heritage in ways that sustain the planet. And in May this year, travel- and tourism-industry leaders – airline executives, hospitality CEOs, tour company presidents, cruise line heads, and others – will gather with government ministers and the directors of international tourism organizations to help chart the industry’s future at the eighth Global Travel and Tourism Summit, organized by WTTC. The meeting addressing climate change and protecting the environment, we have now entered a transformative moment that history may look back upon as a tipping point, when travel and tourism realized its full potential to be a positive force in the world. Tourism for Tomorrow is the only international sustainable-tourism accolade that is actually awarded based on the results of on-site investigations. A team of experts visits the finalists to determine that what a company says it is doing by going green is really happening in practice. The growing list of finalists and winners includes such by using deep-sea water to air-condition its villas. The company currently uses coconutbiodiesel-fueled vehicles there, in addition to participating in a companywide social and environmental responsibility program. In North America, Yucatán’s Haciendas en el Mundo Maya works in partnership with impoverished Mayan communities to uplift their standard of living. For work in Mexico’s most stunning collection of renovated historic haciendas, the foundation hires 90 percent of its staff locally; it also educates and trains villagers to develop and manage their own businesses, including the high-end spas and handicraft shops that serve resort guests. And out at sea, Lindblad Expeditions has led the cause to support the protection of the Galápagos Islands: To date, the company has contributed $4.5 million to underwrite conservation projects implemented by the Charles Darwin Research Station, while also supporting ranger patrol boats for Galápagos National Park. Lindblad was among the first U.S. signatories to the Marine Stewardship Council’s certification program; its onboard sustainable cuisine helps educate guests about how to enjoy seafood while also saving our seas. In South Africa’s remote Cedar Mountains, Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat is helping safeguard one of the largest surviving herds of the Cape Mountain zebra, an animal brought back In this new tourism reality, giving back to nature and local communities is part of having a great vacation. is akin to a G8 gathering for travel, where difficult issues are addressed, priorities are set, and plans are implemented that will ultimately affect those of us who take a vacation or travel on business. With the summit prioritizing recognition of the world’s top destinations and companies that are leading the way to a greener future, the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards reveal just how far the industry has come in moving sustainable tourism from a sidebar discussion into the tourism mainstream. When it comes to global concerns such as companies as Wilderness Safaris, along with andBEYOND (formerly CCAfrica). These two Africa-based companies offer luxury lodges and camps that not only are built from environmentally friendly, locally sourced materials, but have also helped put hundreds of thousands of acres of endangered-species habitat under protection at the same time. Or Six Senses Resorts & Spas, headquartered in Bangkok, which is developing a zero-carbon emissions program at its flagship 65-villa Soneva Fushi Resort in the Maldives to limit climate change from the brink of extinction, while also conserving one of the largest collections of ancient rock-art sites by indigenous Bushmen, one of the oldest cultures on earth. Together, our individual travel choices make a big difference in helping to create this new tourism reality, where giving back to nature and local communities is part of having a great vacation. By supporting these and other companies committed to sustainable tourism, we can each become part of the solution, preserving the places we love to visit for future generations to enjoy. 52 VIRTUOSO LIFE
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