In 2011 the Table Mountain Cableway was the overall winner in the Imvelo Awards for Responsible Tourism and in 2012 the company was a finalist in the waste management category.
Showing posts with label responsible tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label responsible tourism. Show all posts
15 February 2013
Table Mountain Cableway: Sustainability & responsible tourism (video)
The flat-topped Table Mountain is, besides the V&A Waterfront, Cape Point, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Robben Island, the most prominent landmark of Cape Town. Being such an remarkable landmark and important contributor to the city's tourism industry, the main service provider at Table Mountain, the Table Mountain Cableway, is putting its focus not only on providing transport up and down the mountain and on its service facilities on topof Table Mountain, but also on sustainability and responsible tourism. The following video, released by Table Mountain Cableway, is providing some basic info about the company's efforts towards waste reduction, water and electricity usage reduction, as well as about the heart of Cableway's corporate social responsibility: the principle of access for all! Kudos! Enjoy!
05 December 2009
Ethical Traveler: The Developing World's 10 Best Ethical Destinations 2010
Ethical Traveler recently released a top 10 list of "The Developing World's 10 Best Ethical Destinations". To create the list Ethical Traveler made an extensive research focussing on three general categories, namely "Environmental Protection", "Social Welfare" and "Human Rights" as basis for their research to identify the top ten destinations.
The best ethical destinations for 2010 are (in alphabetical order):
The best ethical destinations for 2010 are (in alphabetical order):
- Argentina
responsible holidays in Argentina - Belize
responsible holidays in Belize - Chile
responsible holidays in Chile - Ghana
responsible holidays in Ghana - Lithuania
responsible holidays in Lithuania - Namibia »
responsible holidays in Namibia - Poland
responsible holidays in Poland - Seychelles
responsible holidays in Seychelles - South Africa »
responsible holidays in South Africa - Suriname
13 November 2009
2009 Resonsible Tourism Awards - three awards for Mozambique & South Africa
The winners of the 2009 Resonsible Tourism Awards got announced at the 11 Nov 2009, which is apparently the World Responsible Tourism Day. Whale Watch Kaikoura, New Zealand, was the overall winner, but projects from Mozambique & South Africa also won awards.
The Responsible Tourism Awards were founded in 2004 by responsibletravel.com, who run the Awards in partnership with The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine - the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society, and World Travel Market. Virgin Holidays became headline sponsors of the Awards in 2007 and have continued to support us since.
Best for poverty reduction
Winner: Guludo Beach Lodge, Mozambique
The work of Guludo Beach Lodge, through their charitable foundation ‘Nema’ has had an unprecedented and undeniably positive impact on the immediate community, working towards major improvements in children’s health care and education conditions. Their portfolio of projects in the local area is exhaustive, having improved school attendance by 350 per cent, providing access to safe drinking water for 15,000 people, supplying over 10,000 women and children with mosquito-nets, and working closely with the local community for the sustainable continuation of their projects by providing water committee training, hygiene and sanitation workshops and much more.
Highly commended: Tribal Voice Communications, Kenya & Rekero, Kenya
Contact details: Guludo Beach Lodge. Amy Carter-James, Managing Director, amy@guludo.com, +44 207 1274727
Best for conservation of wildlife & habitats
Winner: Great Plains Conservation, South Africa
For incorporating a range of innovative projects across five African countries. Their work in the Maasai Mara is particularly impressive, facilitating the creation of an 80,000 acre conservancy, and guaranteeing regular payment to the local communities for the use of their land for tourism purposes – regardless of the number of guests. On an unequivocal basis, they provide protected revenue for the indigenous peoples of the Mara, reducing the negative social and economic impacts of tourism.
Highly commended: Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT), Uganda & Way Out Experiences, Malaysia, Indonesia & Borneo
Contact details: Great Plains Conservation. Hilton Walker, Sales, Marketing and PR Manager, hilton@greatplainsconservation.com +27 31 765 3947 or +27 82 579 9055
Best destination
Winner: City of Cape Town, South Africa
The City of Cape Town has taken responsibility for identifying and prioritising local issues from a responsible tourism perspective. The City’s Tourism Department has worked in conjunction with its colleagues in the city administration and the industry to develop a Responsible Tourism Charter which commits both the industry and the city government to address the local priorities and to report on progress. Signatories have committed to define measurable goals and to monitor and report publicly on progress.
Highly commended: Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, UK
Contact details: City of Cape Town. Mansoor Mohamed, Executive Director: Economic, Social Development and Tourism, Mansoor.Mohamed@capetown.gov.za, + 27(0) 21 400 2589
The Responsible Tourism Awards were founded in 2004 by responsibletravel.com, who run the Awards in partnership with The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine - the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society, and World Travel Market. Virgin Holidays became headline sponsors of the Awards in 2007 and have continued to support us since.
Best for poverty reduction
Winner: Guludo Beach Lodge, Mozambique
The work of Guludo Beach Lodge, through their charitable foundation ‘Nema’ has had an unprecedented and undeniably positive impact on the immediate community, working towards major improvements in children’s health care and education conditions. Their portfolio of projects in the local area is exhaustive, having improved school attendance by 350 per cent, providing access to safe drinking water for 15,000 people, supplying over 10,000 women and children with mosquito-nets, and working closely with the local community for the sustainable continuation of their projects by providing water committee training, hygiene and sanitation workshops and much more.
Highly commended: Tribal Voice Communications, Kenya & Rekero, Kenya
Contact details: Guludo Beach Lodge. Amy Carter-James, Managing Director, amy@guludo.com, +44 207 1274727
Best for conservation of wildlife & habitats
Winner: Great Plains Conservation, South Africa
For incorporating a range of innovative projects across five African countries. Their work in the Maasai Mara is particularly impressive, facilitating the creation of an 80,000 acre conservancy, and guaranteeing regular payment to the local communities for the use of their land for tourism purposes – regardless of the number of guests. On an unequivocal basis, they provide protected revenue for the indigenous peoples of the Mara, reducing the negative social and economic impacts of tourism.
Highly commended: Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT), Uganda & Way Out Experiences, Malaysia, Indonesia & Borneo
Contact details: Great Plains Conservation. Hilton Walker, Sales, Marketing and PR Manager, hilton@greatplainsconservation.com +27 31 765 3947 or +27 82 579 9055
Best destination
Winner: City of Cape Town, South Africa
The City of Cape Town has taken responsibility for identifying and prioritising local issues from a responsible tourism perspective. The City’s Tourism Department has worked in conjunction with its colleagues in the city administration and the industry to develop a Responsible Tourism Charter which commits both the industry and the city government to address the local priorities and to report on progress. Signatories have committed to define measurable goals and to monitor and report publicly on progress.
Highly commended: Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, UK
Contact details: City of Cape Town. Mansoor Mohamed, Executive Director: Economic, Social Development and Tourism, Mansoor.Mohamed@capetown.gov.za, + 27(0) 21 400 2589
09 June 2009
Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards
Nominations for the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards are now open. Nominate a winner in our 2009 Awards by Monday 15 June, and you could be in with a chance to win fantastic safari holiday to Kenya for you and a friend! Read all about our prize holiday – and make your nomination – on our dedicated website www.responsibletourismawards.com
responsibletravel.com founded and organise the Awards - the most prestigious of their kind in the world - in partnership with The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine, BBC World News, World Travel Market, and our headline sponsor, Virgin Holidays.
Read an interview with prolific travel writer and supporter of the Awards Paul Theroux, which first appeared in The Daily Telegraph.
responsibletravel.com founded and organise the Awards - the most prestigious of their kind in the world - in partnership with The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine, BBC World News, World Travel Market, and our headline sponsor, Virgin Holidays.
Read an interview with prolific travel writer and supporter of the Awards Paul Theroux, which first appeared in The Daily Telegraph.
05 June 2009
The responsible tourism movement
As the world of capitalism develops a conscience, political leaders gather momentum to tackle climate change and businesses are responding to the ever-increasing demand for more ethical products.
The current trend, largely fuelled by the acknowledgement that climate change really is caused by anthropogenic factors, is rapidly moving business towards a more socially and environmentally responsible agenda – something green consumers and activists have long been askingfor.
With the increased awareness of the (good and bad) effects tourism can have on our planet, the ‘responsible travel’ movement is gathering pace around the world too.
Since our launch 6 years ago, those of us have argued that tourism needs to be re-invented for the long term benefit of everyone; local people, the environment, tourists, and not least the tourism industry itself have gathered momentum.
It used to be the domain of a minority, but responsible tourism is an ever growing trend that has earned its place in public consciousness as have other longer established and better known movements - such as organic, slow food and fair trade. And we at responsibletravel.com don’t feel that this is a trend that is going to slow down anytime soon…
Justin Francis, co-founder of responsibletravel.com says: “People are a lot more aware of the effects their lifestyle choices have on the environment and local communities, and travel is a huge part of that.
This is knowledge that we as a society and as individuals have built up, and will not just be forgotten or ignored. I believe it is a change that was long overdue, and the only way forward for a responsible tourism industry.”
Responsible tourism or eco-tourism?
Although the concept of eco-tourism has been around for a long time, Justin explains it should not be confused with the term responsible tourism. Eco-tourism focuses on the natural world, and sadly too many operators joined the bandwagon without any substance to their claims.
Responsible tourism on the other hand embraces all forms of tourism but there are a further 2 deciding factors: there needs to be transparency about operator's policies, and a form of independent checks & measures on their practices, which responsibletravel.com does through independent reviews from travellers.
Responsible travel then and now
When responsibletravel.com started 6 years ago (we think the first business to use the term), we found only 4 tour operators with responsible tourism policies. Today, there are over 250 operators on our site that have met our responsible travel criteria. In different ways we have worked with tourism companies ranging from small operators and accommodations to larger operators like for example First Choice, who have made headway with their responsible tourism policies and Environment & People report, which focuses on how they protect the environment and respect people both at home and in overseas destinations.
There are now various initiatives in the US - such as the Responsible Tourism Committee founded recently by The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) - and the UK, such as the Green Tourism Scheme, the Travel Foundation and of course the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards that we run. Organisations like Tourism Concern have been working hard with communities in destination countries to reduce social and environmental problems connected to tourism, and with the outbound tourism industry in the UK to find ways of improving tourism so that local benefits are increased. And finally, there is the World Responsible Tourism Day on 14 November.
But it doesn’t stop there - responsibletravel.com is making a difference to communities around the world, marketing small initiatives directly to the traveller and putting them on a level playing field with large scale operators. Take this example of the Walker family, a family of twelve Aborigine sisters who've started a tour company to invite visitors to spend time leaning about their culture. Their marketing used to consist of one of the sisters sitting on a rock outside their village inviting passers by to join a tour. They are now represented on our site, you can see their tours here.
Another example is our community based tourism initiative, linking community run tourism businesses, which often have an occupancy level below 5%, to established tour operators to ensure regular bookings as well as promoting them on responsibletravel.com.
And just how important the word ‘responsible’ has become to tourism is illustrated in the level of press interest received. There is a sense that responsible tourism now is a big community of travellers doing the right thing, and you as a traveller can be a part of that. Help us make sure that responsible tourism is here to stay by proving to the rest of the tourism industry that increasing numbers of us do care about destinations & local people when on holiday… and have a more genuine experience and fulfilling holiday as a result! [src]
The current trend, largely fuelled by the acknowledgement that climate change really is caused by anthropogenic factors, is rapidly moving business towards a more socially and environmentally responsible agenda – something green consumers and activists have long been askingfor.
With the increased awareness of the (good and bad) effects tourism can have on our planet, the ‘responsible travel’ movement is gathering pace around the world too.
Since our launch 6 years ago, those of us have argued that tourism needs to be re-invented for the long term benefit of everyone; local people, the environment, tourists, and not least the tourism industry itself have gathered momentum.
It used to be the domain of a minority, but responsible tourism is an ever growing trend that has earned its place in public consciousness as have other longer established and better known movements - such as organic, slow food and fair trade. And we at responsibletravel.com don’t feel that this is a trend that is going to slow down anytime soon…
Justin Francis, co-founder of responsibletravel.com says: “People are a lot more aware of the effects their lifestyle choices have on the environment and local communities, and travel is a huge part of that.
This is knowledge that we as a society and as individuals have built up, and will not just be forgotten or ignored. I believe it is a change that was long overdue, and the only way forward for a responsible tourism industry.”
Responsible tourism or eco-tourism?
Although the concept of eco-tourism has been around for a long time, Justin explains it should not be confused with the term responsible tourism. Eco-tourism focuses on the natural world, and sadly too many operators joined the bandwagon without any substance to their claims.
Responsible tourism on the other hand embraces all forms of tourism but there are a further 2 deciding factors: there needs to be transparency about operator's policies, and a form of independent checks & measures on their practices, which responsibletravel.com does through independent reviews from travellers.
Responsible travel then and now
When responsibletravel.com started 6 years ago (we think the first business to use the term), we found only 4 tour operators with responsible tourism policies. Today, there are over 250 operators on our site that have met our responsible travel criteria. In different ways we have worked with tourism companies ranging from small operators and accommodations to larger operators like for example First Choice, who have made headway with their responsible tourism policies and Environment & People report, which focuses on how they protect the environment and respect people both at home and in overseas destinations.
There are now various initiatives in the US - such as the Responsible Tourism Committee founded recently by The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) - and the UK, such as the Green Tourism Scheme, the Travel Foundation and of course the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards that we run. Organisations like Tourism Concern have been working hard with communities in destination countries to reduce social and environmental problems connected to tourism, and with the outbound tourism industry in the UK to find ways of improving tourism so that local benefits are increased. And finally, there is the World Responsible Tourism Day on 14 November.
But it doesn’t stop there - responsibletravel.com is making a difference to communities around the world, marketing small initiatives directly to the traveller and putting them on a level playing field with large scale operators. Take this example of the Walker family, a family of twelve Aborigine sisters who've started a tour company to invite visitors to spend time leaning about their culture. Their marketing used to consist of one of the sisters sitting on a rock outside their village inviting passers by to join a tour. They are now represented on our site, you can see their tours here.
Another example is our community based tourism initiative, linking community run tourism businesses, which often have an occupancy level below 5%, to established tour operators to ensure regular bookings as well as promoting them on responsibletravel.com.
And just how important the word ‘responsible’ has become to tourism is illustrated in the level of press interest received. There is a sense that responsible tourism now is a big community of travellers doing the right thing, and you as a traveller can be a part of that. Help us make sure that responsible tourism is here to stay by proving to the rest of the tourism industry that increasing numbers of us do care about destinations & local people when on holiday… and have a more genuine experience and fulfilling holiday as a result! [src]
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