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WTM Africa unveils second edition of the responsible tourism awards

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ATW

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26/10/2021

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WTM Africa unveils second edition of the responsible tourism awards

Johannesburg, 26 October 2021WTM Africa has had an excellent response to the WTM Responsible Tourism Awards this year — with some inspiring, innovative and scalable solutions from the African region to tackle the challenges of sustainability.

The best African entries will be included in the Global Gold Awards that are currently being assessed by the global judging panel.

Although the global awards will be announced on 01 November in London during a virtual event, the Gold winners from Africa will only be announced in April next year during the WTM Africa show in the host City of Cape Town.

“With so many valuable contributions, we are proud to share that there will be a second edition of the WTM Africa Responsible Tourism Award, with the winners announced on 13 April 2022 during our live event,” says Megan Oberholzer, RX Africa (Reed Exhibitions) South Africa Portfolio Director – Travel, Tourism & Creative Industries.

“Those applying for the global award are automatically put forward for the Africa edition. But we want to hear even more stories. There are so many incredible initiatives in Africa that deserve to be showcased as leading examples of responsible tourism. And you now have until 28 February 2022 to share your initiatives with us,” Oberholzer adds.

This year’s categories reflect the relationship between tourism, responsibility and COVID-19:

  • Decarbonising Travel & Tourism
  • Sustaining Employees and Communities through the Pandemic
  • Destinations Building Back Better Post-Covid
  • Increasing Diversity in Tourism: How Inclusive is our Industry?
  • Reducing Plastic Waste in the Environment
  • Growing the Local Economic Benefit

“The ambition of the Responsible Tourism Awards is to encourage businesses to learn from the leaders and to be inspired to do what they can to make tourism better — better for our environment and local communities. The WTM Responsible Tourism’s Platform for Change is being developed to show businesses and destinations the proven solutions which have been tried and tested,” says Harold Goodwin, WTM’s Responsible Tourism Advisor.

Launched in 2002, the awards seek to recognise and reward businesses and destinations which are contributing to a more sustainable and responsible tourism industry, based on the simple principle that all types of tourism, from niche to mainstream, can and should be organised in a way that preserves, respects and benefits destinations and local people.

“Africa is a leading example for responsible tourism, and the awards provide a platform for worthy initiatives to get well-deserved international and regional recognition,” concludes Oberholzer.

ENDS

Issued by: Big Ambitions

Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals. The events are:

London Travel Week, brought to you by WTM London, is the one-stop-shop for event hosts and visitors to be able to shape the next 12 months of travel together. The festival of events supports the global travel and tourism industry through capturing invaluable news and enhancing industry connections.

Next event: Friday 29 October – Friday 5 November 2021

https://londontravelweek.wtm.com/

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating over £3.71 billion in travel industry contracts.

Next live event: Monday 1 to 3 November 2021 at ExCel London

Next WTM Virtual: Monday 8 to 9 November 2021 – Virtual

http://london.wtm.com/

Travel Forward London is the leading travel technology event, co-located with WTM London. Travel Forward is renowned for showcasing the next-generation technologies for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Over 19,000 travel officials and 150+ innovative solution providers attend for 3 days of cutting-edge insights, open debate and unrivalled networking opportunities. The combination of a 2-day conference, interactive exhibition and start-up showcase makes Travel Forward truly unique.

Next live event: Monday 1 November to Wednesday 3 November 2021 at ExCel London

Next Travel Forward Virtual: Monday 8 November to Tuesday 9 November 2021 – Virtual

http://travelforward.wtm.com/

WTM Virtual, is the WTM Portfolio virtual platform, created to offer global delegates the chance to arrange one-to-one virtual meetings, to do business, attend conference sessions and roundtables, take part in speed networking and more. WTM Virtual embrace the global leading travel shows in one platform.

WTM Latin America takes place annually in São Paulo and attracts around 19,000 tourism professionals during a three-day event. The show offers qualified content, as well as networking and business opportunities. In its ninth edition – the first 100% virtual – WTM Latin America followed its focus on effective business generation and reached the milestone of 4,200 meetings held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors.

Next event: Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 April 2022 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil

http://latinamerica.wtm.com/

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 6,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors.

Next event: Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 April 2022 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/

Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 29th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2021 showcased over 1,300 exhibiting companies from 62 countries across nine halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, with visitors from more than 140 countries over the four days. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #IdeasArriveHere

Next in-person event: Sunday 8 to Wednesday 11 May 2022, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html

Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2022. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes ATM Virtual, ILTM Arabia, Arival Dubai, Influencers’ events and activations, as well as Travel Forward. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as a series of country summits.

https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html

WTM Global Hub, is the new WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub. https://hub.wtm.com/

About RX (Reed Exhibitions)

RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organisations. We elevate the power of face to face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.rxglobal.com

RELX About RELX

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.*

*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors

About ATW Connect:  Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel, LGBTQ+ travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.

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