The LATA Responsible Tourism Awards champion the best work in responsible tourism across the continent – for members and non-members alike.
The primary goal of these awards is to unearth, acknowledge, and promote good practice demonstrating how businesses and destinations are fostering transformation and spearheading innovative initiatives centred around the welfare and sustainability of tourism.
Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing the winning case studies recently announced at the WTM Africa Responsible Tourism Awards, giving you tangible examples to inspire you and help see which category to enter your business.
Click here for more information and the entry form.
The six categories are:
- MAKING TRAVEL INCLUSIVE
- CHAMPIONING CULTURAL DIVERSITY
- NATURE POSITIVE
- COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE
- INCREASING LOCAL SOURCING – CREATING SHARED VALUE
- EMPLOYING AND UPSKILLING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
The first categories we will spotlight are Nature Positive and Combatting Climate Change
NATURE POSITIVE
Wildlife and the natural environment are important drivers for travel. The travel and tourism sector depends on nature’s beauty to provide its goods and services, yet tourism can have negative impacts on the places we visit. The tourism sector has a responsibility to contribute to the reversal of biodiversity loss and protect nature for future generations by promoting a regenerative approach to tourism. We are looking for businesses that are acting as the guardians of biodiversity and taking a regenerative approach to their operation.
Gold Winner: Denis Private Island – Seychelles
At the heart of Denis Private Island is a sustained regeneration project; the conservation initiatives are funded by earnings from the small eco-lodge on the island. Palm trees and copra plantations are being removed, natural vegetation has been restored, non-native predators have been removed, three critically endangered bird species have been reintroduced, and the sea around the island has been recognized as a marine protected area. The island’s owners are proud Seychellois and passionate conservationists. They want to recreate and preserve an island reminiscent of the Seychelles of their youth, and help secure the future of critically endangered species of Seychelles wildlife.
COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE?
The results of climate change can manifest in many ways, and the tourism industry is exceptionally vulnerable. Each year, the impact becomes more evident and, for many, more disastrous. Droughts, floods, wildfires, and extreme weather conditions devastate communities and businesses in destinations across the world. They are no longer unusual or isolated incidences. We are looking for businesses and destinations actively contributing to the decarbonisation of tourism operations and exploring innovative ways to protect against threats to ensure business continuity.
Gold Winner: Ecodrop – Zimbabwe
Ecodrop’s mission is to eliminate single-use plastic bottles from the tourism sector across Southern Africa. They provide purified water through Reverse Osmosis dispensers and top-tier, reusable drinking bottles designed for durability and convenience. Refill stations can be found in hotels, airports, and popular tourist attractions. Visitors and locals purchase a sturdy, refillable bottle equipped with a unique QR code that can be scanned at any of the refill stations to fill their bottles with purified cold water for the duration of their stay. Through this project, Ecodrop has removed the use of 72 860 plastic bottles in Victoria Falls between April 2023 and January 2024 and has seen a 30% increase on a month-to-month basis since early 2023.