UNWTO Awards recognize the commitment of the tourism sector to sustainable approaches

PR No.: PR 17006

Guanajuato’s State Ministry of Tourism (Mexico), Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (Belgium), Govardhan Ecovillage (India) and Dutch Travel Trade Association (Netherlands) were the winners of 13th Edition of the UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism. Nearly 150 initiatives from 55 countries applied for this edition.

The UNWTO Awards paid tribute to the commitment of the tourism sector towards sustainability and innovation. The winning projects were announced last night during the UNWTO Awards Ceremony in the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR) in Madrid.

“The 13^th UNWTO Awards is particularly relevant as it coincides with the Official Launch of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017, a milestone and an immense opportunity for the global tourism community to advance towards a more inclusive and sustainable sector,” underlined UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai in his opening remarks.

Attended by nearly 400 participants from 85 countries, the Ceremony emphasized how the tourism community has embraced sustainable and innovative approaches in the last years as ways to enhance the sector in the future.

The UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism are held annually to highlight and promote the work of organizations and individuals around the world that have greatly impacted the tourism sector.

Their achievements have served as an inspiration for competitive and sustainable tourism development and the promotion of the values of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The awardees of the 13^th UNWTO Awards for Innovation in four different categories are as follows:

Finalists	Organization	Project	Country	Post
Public Policies and Governance	Guanajuato Ministry of Tourism	Strategies for the Development of Sustainable Tourism in Guanajuato	Mexico	Winner
	Instituto Costarricense de Turismo	Social Progress Index in Tourist Destinations of Costa Rica	Costa Rica	First runner up
	Valencia Region Tourism Board	Valencian Institute of Tourism Technologies (INVAT.TUR)	Spain	Second runner up
	Advisory Council of the Tourism Ministry	Innovative Use of E-Tourism	Egypt	Second runner up
Entreprises	Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group	Adding Color to Lives	Belgium	Winner
Entreprises	Ecobnb	Ecobnb, The Community of Sustainable Tourism	Italy	First runner up
Non-Governmental Organizations	Govardhan Ecovillage	Govardhan Ecovillage - Eco Tourism as a catalyst for rural development	India	Winner
	Petra National Trust	Culture Heritage: Tools for Sustainability of a World Heritage Site	Jordan	First runner up
	Funcadión Tropicalia	A Sustainable Tourism Supply Chain	Dominican Republic	Second runner up
Research and Technology	ANVR (Dutch Travel Trade Association)	Carmacal carbon calculator for travel packages	Netherlands	Winner
	Turismo de Portugal, IP	Tourism 4.0	Portugal	First runner up
	Ulysses Foundation	Encyclopedia of Tourism	Spain	Second runner up

Additional information

The 13^th Edition of the UNWTO Awards were organized in collaboration with the International Tourism Trade Fair (IFEMA/FITUR) and kindly supported by:

- Suning (China)

- China Chamber of Tourism (China)

- Andalucia Region (Spain)

- PortAventura (Spain)

- Macao Government Tourism Office (SAR)

- Itaipu Binacional (Paraguay)

- Secretaria de Estado de Turismo de Paraguay (Senatur)

- Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia

- Samsonite

- Madrid Destino

- Eventisimo

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