The fourteenth annual Skål Sustainable Tourism Awards took place on Thursday 29 October 2015 during the Opening Ceremony of the 76th Skål World Congress held in Torremolinos, Spain.
The awards were launched to highlight best practices in tourism around the world and also serve the purpose of acquainting the world with this new concept that puts emphasis on the importance of the interaction of the physical, cultural and social environment the traveller’s responsibility and the need for active community participation for sustainability.
A record number of 67 projects competed in the eight categories available to win these prestigious awards.
Overall winner: CHUMBE ISLAND CORAL PARK (CHICOP)│ TANZANIA
Submitted by CHICOP – Award collected by David Fisher, Skål International Vice President, on behalf of Sibylle Riedmiller of CHICOP
Category winners
1. TOUR OPERATORS: Travel Agents, inboud/outbound tour operators – winner: DMCs COFFEEBEANS ROUTES │ SOUTH AFRICA
Submitted by Coffeebeans Routes with the support of Skål International Cape Town
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
2. URBAN ACCOMMODATION – winner: CHIVA-SOM INTERNATIONAL HEALTH RESORTS, THAILAND
Submitted by Chiva-Som Health Resorts with the support of Skål International Bangkok
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
3. RURAL ACCOMMODATION – winner: BASECAMP EXPLORER │ KENYA
Submitted by Basecamp Explorer Kenya
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
4. TRANSPORTATION: Air, land and sea based – winner: RACING FORWARD ON GREEN GAS │ NORWAY
Submitted by Fjord Line with the support of Skål International Bergen
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
5. COUNTRYSIDE: Alpine tourism, scenic mountains, forests, national parks, etc. – winner: PARQUE XCARET │ MEXICO
Submitted by Parque Xcaret with the support of Skål International Cancun
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
6. MARINE: Coastal tourism, underwater, beaches, lakes, rivers, water sports, etc. -winner: CHUMBE ISLAND CORAL PARK (CHICOP)│ TANZANIA
Submitted by CHICOP
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
7. COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT PROJECTS: Tourism offices and representation – winner: LINEAR PARK │ MEXICO
Submitted by the Ministry of Tourism for the State of Puebla with the support of Skål International Mexico City
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
8. MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: Cultural heritage, zoos, theme parks, etc. – winner: OLD QUARANTINE STATION │ AUSTRALIA
Submitted by the Mawland Group with the support of Skål International Sydney North
Video presentation | Description of the project | Website
Skål International selected a panel of three distinguished experts in sustainability to evaluate the projects independently. The primary criteria for the evaluation are based on:
- Contribution to the conservation of nature
- Cultural heritage conservation
- Community involvement and benefits
- Educational features and benefits
- Business viability and economic growth
- Innovation and creativity
- Marketing value generation (brand enhancement)
- Health, safety and wellbeing of employees and guests
The initial awards were presented in 2002 following the United Nations declaration of 2002 as the Year of Ecotourism and the Mountains to highlight and acknowledge best practices around the globe.
For the fifth consecutive year, Diversey Care presented the Skål Sustainable Tourism Awards in eight different categories as well as the Skål Special Recognition Award by Diversey Care. The ‘Skål Special Recognition Award by Diversey Care’ shares its aim with the “Skål Sustainable Tourism Awards’ and is designed to acknowledge sustainability projects which are new and innovative and which transform the conventional understanding of sustainability. They do this by delivering more efficient output, bringing businesses closer to an ‘integrated bottom line’ in which business and environment, along with safety, risk management and corporate responsibility, is managed effectively.
Stefan Phang, Regional Director of Sustainability & CSR at Diversey Care, attended the 76th Skål World Congress to share valuable information about disaster relief in the tourism industry. The Skål Special Recognition Award by Diversey Care was presented by Mareike Schaumburg, Sector Marketing Lead Hospitality Germany at Diversey Care, to David Fisher, Vice President of Skål International, who accepted the award on behalf of the overall winner CHUMBE ISLAND CORAL PARK, Tanzania.
