2004 Responsible Tourism Award winners

2004 winners

Overall Winners: The Calabash Trust and Exodus

Calabash Trust and Tours - township tours in Port Elizabeth South Africa - are a shining example of how tourism can benefit the poor.

Exodus are an outstanding example of how responsible tourism can become part of a company’s DNA and run like a thread through all the companies activities.

Best Tour Operator

Winner: Exodus Travel
This was an extremely competitive category, Exodus were chosen for their systematic approach to integrating responsible tourism throughout their entire business, including their supply chain, and thereby setting a model for other businesses to follow.

Highly Commended:

Intrepid Travel
The Adventure Company

Best Hotel

Winner: Casuarina Beach Club, Barbados
The winner was selected for its employment of disabled people, initiatives to benefit the poor and outstanding environmental performance.

Highly Commended:

Hilton Hotels

Best Transport Initiative

Sponsored by The Energy Saving Trust

Winner: Eurostar
Eurostar's high-speed rail service linking the UK and France has provided a lower emission alternative to flying for 59 million people for over 10 years.

Best in a Mountain Environment

Winner: Kasbah du Toubkal
A mountain accommodation situated in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco , Kasbah de Toubkal has forged an extraordinary partnership between the Berber community and Discover Ltd, leading to the sensitive development of tourism and extensive benefits to the local community.

Highly Commended:

Guerba World Travel

Best in a Marine Environment

Sponsored by the Fiji Visitors Bureau

Winner: Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd
Chumbe Island, near Zanzibar has funded a number of outstanding conservation and social programmes from tourism revenues.

Highly Commended:

Blue Ventures

Best for Poverty Reduction

Sponsored by Exodus

Winner: The Calabash Trust
The Calabash Trust provides township tours in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and has brought significant benefits to township communities through tourism.

Highly Commended:

Makasutu Cultural Forest
Kahawa Shamba
Santa Lucia eco-lodge

Best in a Protected Area

Winner: The North Moors National Park Authority and their Developing Assets of Protected Areas scheme (DAPA)
DAPA was selected for its creation of an effective link between the rural economy and sustainable environmental park management.

Highly Commended:

Operation Wallacea

Best for Conservation of Endangered Species

Sponsored by Friends of Conservation

Winner: Naturetrek
A UK based tour operator, Nature Trek has made available nature based and wildlife tours to mainstream tourists and exhibits a consistent, diverse and measurable approach to conservation issues worldwide.

Highly Commended:

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Best for Innovation

Sponsored by Active Hotels

Winner: The Mihai Eminescu Trust
A village project based in Viscri, Transylvania, The Trust has turned a poor, remote village, deserted by young people, into a thriving cultural tourism attraction, without spoiling its traditional way of life and beautiful natural surroundings.

Highly Commended:

Kahawa Shamba

The person who has contributed most significantly to responsible tourism

Sponsored by Intrepid Travel

Winner: Adama Bah
Adama has worked for 20 years bringing together different stakeholder groups in the Gambia to work together to increase the benefits of tourism to local people and the environment.

Highly Commended: