Responsible Tourism Partnership and International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) announced the 8 winners of the Global Responsible Tourism Award 2023, which includes Kerala Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission(Kerala) and Soar Excursions, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) from India.
- Kerala RT mission won the award under Best for local sourcing, craft and food category for promoting sustainable and women-inclusive initiatives.
- Soar Excursions won the award under Best for meaningful connections category.
About Global Responsible Tourism Awards:
i.Responsible Tourism established the Responsible Tourism Awards in 2004. The award was later renamed as “World Responsible Tourism Awards”.
ii.For the first time, the Global Awards for each category, selected from the gold winners in each of the regions, were introduced in 2021.
iii.It caters to Africa, India and Latin America regions, and are given in six categories.
- Best for Tackling Plastic Waste
- Best for Meaningful Connections
- Best for Local Sourcing, Craft and Food
- Best for Addressing Climate Change
- Best for Diversity and Inclusion
- Best for Nature-Positive Tourism
Winners of Global Responsible Tourism Award 2023:
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best for nature-positive tourism | Wildlife Act, South Africa |
| Best for meaningful connections | Soar Excursions, Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India) |
| Uthando, South Africa | |
| Best for diversity and inclusion | The Batuc Network, from Bahia in Brazil |
| Best for local sourcing, craft and food | Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala (India) |
| Ngwenya Glass, Estwatini | |
| Best for tackling plastic waste | Lemala Camps and Lodges in Tanzania |
| Best for addressing climate change | Weeva, South Africa |
Highlights:
i.Kerala RT Mission is a joint winner along with Eswatini, the erstwhile Swaziland, a landlocked country in southern Africa, which is noted for eco-friendly Ngwenya Glass.
ii.Soar Excursions Ahmedabad is also a joint winner with Uthando, South Africa which runs respectful, life-changing philanthropic education excursions around Cape Town visiting community development projects.
About Kerala RT Mission:
i.Kerala RT Mission was launched in 2017 by the Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan. This is the nodal agency formed by the Government of Kerala to spread and implement the ideologies and initiatives of Responsible Tourism across Kerala.
ii.This is also the State Nodal Agency tasked by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, for the implementation of its Rural Tourism Development Project.
- It has been implementing women-friendly tourism projects in the state with the support of United Nations (UN) Women by linking women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to tourism activities and ensuring effective marketing of indigenous products.
- It promotes the ethnic and traditional foods of each locality through tourism.
Key Points:
i.This is the second time that Kerala RTM is getting the Responsible Tourism Global Award.
- Its Water-STREET project implemented at Maravanthuruthu in Kottayam district got this award in 2022.
ii.Also, with this award, RTM registers hat-trick in 2023 as it had earlier got ‘Gold’ award of the Government of India and Gold award of the ICRT.
About Soar Excursions, Ahmedabad:
Soar Excursions in Ahmedabad offers customized, responsible tourism experiences in Gujarat, catering to various travelers. Their activities range from bicycling in Rann of Kutch to exploring modernist architecture and connecting with local communities through immersive tours, and textile workshops. With a small team, they host 150-200 guests yearly.
Recent Related News:
i.British children’s writer and performance poet, Michael Rosen(77 years old), has been awarded the PEN Pinter Prize 2023. He will receive the award in a ceremony co-hosted by the British Library on 11 October 2023.
ii.On 26th June 2023, the Department of Health and Family Welfare under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) received the winner of Kreta Vikreta Gaurav Samman Samaroh, 2023 in Highest Single-Bid Procurements in the 2022-23 fiscal category.
About Responsible Tourism Partnership:
Managing Director– Harold Goodwin
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
