The WHL Group is this year’s global media partner for Wild Asia‘s 2010 Responsible Tourism Awards. Now in their fifth year, the Awards are part of Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Initiative, an ongoing campaign to promote sustainable destinations through tourism – a goal vitally important to both partners.

“The Awards give us the opportunity to acknowledge operators who are making a difference and to increase our understanding of the industry and good practices,” Dr. Reza Azmi, Founder and Director of Wild Asia, explains. “The awards act as both a showcase for the exemplary resorts and as an inspiration to others.” Since the inception of the Awards, Wild Asia has identified 12 winners and 27 finalists from all over Asia as leaders of Responsible Tourism.

Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Initiative aims to promote the best practices of sustainable tourism in Asia. A broader goal is to demonstrate the advantages of implementing Responsible Tourism as part of a tourism business strategy. This effort is sustained through effective outreach via Wild Asia’s website and strong partnerships with the media and like-minded travel organizations such as the WHL Group.

Expanded publicity for the Awards plays a vital role in spreading the word about Responsible Tourism and promoting businesses that have taken steps towards making a difference. “Getting the word out to the industry and the traveler is a huge task. We help operators reach a broader travel market, and travelers to make choices to suit their budgets and their conscience,” adds Dr. Azmi.

With the WHL Group on board, the Awards will reach a larger and more diverse audience, including local tourism professionals, mindful travelers and a range of travel partners across the globe. As the largest local-travel company in the world, the WHL Group is a global network of companies that help travelers find unique ways to experience a destination through local tourism professionals. The WHL Group taps into and magnifies the excellence of these local tourism experts who, alone, are local leaders, but united have become a forceful global presence for the right kind of tourism, bringing to major markets all the local opportunities that make a positive impact on hosts and visitors.

Ethan Gelber, the WHL Group’s Media and Communications Manager, stresses the same commitment to Responsible Tourism. “We believe in championing the kind of engaging, enriching and inspirational travel that is, today, what tourism will be tomorrow: experiential, considerate, human-paced, sustainable and, of course responsible. For us, responsibility in travel is as fundamental as the air we breathe. Visitors who seek to discover new places without making a negative impact can now connect with locals with such brimming passion for home that showing it off responsibly is second nature. We applaud all actors in the tourism industry who play a part in facilitating these connections.”

In sum, responsible or sustainable travel is becoming an increasingly important issue. Currently, tourism is one of the top five income earners for 83% of the world and the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) predicts that by 2020, 1.6 billion tourists will hit the road annually. Hence, it is urgent that travelers be inspired and encouraged to make choices that will have a positive impact on the planet.

Wild Asia has received all entries for this year’s Awards and will be short listing and announcing the finalists by the end of June. This year, the Awards are categorized based on hotel capacity, i.e. Large (more than 50 rooms) and Small to Mid-Size (less than 50 rooms). In response to popular demand, Wild Asia have also added a brand new category for tour operators, who will be evaluated based on a specific responsible tour package they have organized.

For more information about the WHL Group, visit www.whl-group.com, read the blog at www.whl.travel/blog or contact Ethan Gelber.

For more information on Wild Asia and the Responsible Tourism Awards, please visit www.wildasia.org or check out the blog at www.wartanews.blogspot.com. For sponsorship opportunities, please write directly to RT@wildasia.org.

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