The Cayuga Collection supporting local people
Former Green Hotelier Award winner The Cayuga Collection was named as a finalist in the People category of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards this week.
The hotel management company operates nine sustainable luxury lodges and hotels in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama and only partners with projects that share their vision of responsible hospitality and are completely committed to sustainability.
Single use plastics are banned throughout the portfolio. Staff are all local people who are employed throughout the year and can access a company doctor programme for themselves and their family. The programme encourages doctors to return to the rural areas where the hotels are located, and is therefore improving the health of local people.
Another GH sustainability champion – Melia Hotels – has a property named as a finalist in the Environment category. Paradisus Playa del Carmen in Mexico is committed to restoring the local habitat and protecting the species of its ecosystem. The property protects four hectares of mangrove forest and three hectares of low forest as well as the coastal dunes. In addition the hotel is restoring coral on a neighbouring Mesoamerican reef.
The hotel runs a carbon neutral conference centre, allowing it to host zero emission events. There is a nature club for guests’ children, staff are encouraged to use bicycles, and the property has donated a bike path and sports park to the community, improving the wellbeing of local people.
There are a total of 15 Tourism for Tomorrow finalists across five continents in the categories: Community, Destination, Environment, Innovation and People.
All the finalists illustrate great commitment to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector.
Following a rigorous 3-phase judging, which includes an onsite evaluation, Winners of the 2018 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards will be announced during the Awards Ceremony at the 18th WTTC Global Summit, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18-19 April 2018.
Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of WTTC said, “Sustainable growth is one of the sector’s most pressing challenges and a strategic priority for WTTC. The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards showcase the very best examples of how our sector is addressing this challenge, and contributing in a positive way to the sustainable development goals and a better world for all. I congratulate all the finalists who are playing such a significant role in ensuring the future sustainability of Travel & Tourism, and encourage the whole sector to learn from their best practice”.
As the Travel & Tourism sector continues to grow, and WTTC currently estimates global Travel & Tourism to have grown by nearly 4% in 2017, we have to ensure we safeguard the environment, local communities and cultural heritage, and our Awards programme calls on tourism businesses to showcase just that.”
Awards Lead Judge, Graham Miller, Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Surrey, said, “This year’s finalists represent all parts of the world but show that across the world tourism can be a powerful way to achieve sustainability goals. We see examples of tourism organisations that have created huge land and marine protected areas, are educating children about the importance of heritage, are empowering women and bringing micro-power to areas with no electricity. Some of these organisations are large and owned by shareholders, others are small and funded by a community or just an individual, but they all demonstrate that tourism can make today and tomorrow more sustainable.”
The Finalists of the 2018 WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, sponsored by AIG Travel, are:
Community Award Finalists, whose organisations are committed to sustainable tourism leadership in local community development, empowerment and cultural heritage
- &Beyond (South Africa)
- Global Himalayan Expedition (India)
- Sustainable Development Institute Mamirauá (Brazil)
Destination Award Finalists, who show commitment to supporting and delivering sustainable tourism best practices in their destinations:
- Corporación Parque Arví (Colombia)
- Riverwind Foundation (USA)
- Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (Canada)
Environment Award Finalists, whose organisations and companies achieved environmental best practice through biodiversity conservation, protection of natural habitats, addressing climate change, and green operations:
- Airport Authority Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
- Chumbe Island Coral Park – CHICOP (Tanzania)
- Meliá Hotels International (Spain)
Innovation Award Finalists, who provided innovative solutions to overcoming the challenges faced by Travel & Tourism in implementing sustainability in practice:
- Transportation Options (Canada)
- Virgin Atlantic (United Kingdom)
- Yayasan Karang Lestari Teluk Pemuteran (Pemuteran Bay Coral Protection Foundation) (Indonesia)
People Award Finalists, who are dedicated to the development of capacity building, training and education to build a skilled tourism workforce for the future:
- Cayuga Collection of Sustainable Luxury Hotels and Lodges (Costa Rica)
- Heritage Watch (Australia)
- TREE Alliance (Cambodia)
The winner of each category will be determined by the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2018 winners’ selection committee which is chaired by Fiona Jeffery OBE.
She said, “The role of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards is to inspire and educate. They identify responsible leadership in our industry and outstanding role models from which best practises can be learnt and built. Our role is to spread this knowledge and encourage a broader appreciation of environmental and ethical governance which helps drive a growing commitment to sustainable tourism practises, so they become part of the DNA of our industry and not the exception.”
