WHICH CATEGORY IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Kuyana Amazon Lodge is a luxury eco-lodge sourcing over 80% of their food from local farmers, ensuring that the menu is deeply rooted in traditional Amazonian gastronomy.  By sourcing fresh, organic, and local ingredients, they provide an immersive culinary experience for guests and contribute to the economic stability of local producers, reducing reliance on imported goods, reducing their carbon footprint, and fostering sustainable agricultural practices within the community.

Kuyana Lodge also supports the local economy by employing indigenous guides who share their deep knowledge of the Amazon rainforest, its flora and fauna, and the cultural significance of the land. They contribute further to the local economy by providing cooking classes, where guests learn traditional recipes and cooking techniques; organize visits to local families to share their life experiences, offering guests an authentic and enriching experience where they can learn firsthand about the traditions, stories, and customs that are part of the daily life of the community and source biodegradable products made by local entrepreneurs. They also facilitate direct interactions between guests and Amupakin midwives, fostering an appreciation for their expertise and traditions and providing some financial support. 20 Quechua artisans and small business owners generate income through their collaboration with Kuyana Lodge through the sale of handmade products, and the provision of local services: guided tours, transportation and restaurants. 

2025 Silver Winner: Latin Trails and ILLA Experience Hotel, NESTS
www.latintrails.com/nests
www.latintrails.com/products/illa-experience-hotel/

The judges wanted to recognise again the NESTS initiative run by Illa Experience Hotel & Latin Trails, which provides young culinary talents from rural and underserved communities in Ecuador with hands-on training, mentorship, and career opportunities in the hospitality industry. They won Gold last year in the Employing and Upskilling Local Communities category. The judges wanted to point out that this initiative benefits not only the individuals who receive training but also the communities to which they return.

In order to be recognised a second time, there needs to be something new. In San Marcos, the neighbourhood where ILLA is located, nine local artisans share their skills in toquilla hat weaving, handmade desserts, watercolour painting, pyrography, restoration, ceramics, helping preserve traditional knowledge and providing artisans with opportunities to earn a stable income. Since 2024, this partnership has generated over $14,000 in direct income for the artisans, contributing to their families and helping sustainably preserve cultural heritage. Guests at ILLA can join them in hands-on experiences, like learning to make Ecuadorian desserts or discovering how to weave toquilla hats. These moments create meaningful connections between travellers and the people of San Marcos, thus enriching the local community and guests, albeit each group in a different way, one financial, the other experiential.

Since 2007, Huasquila has been working to make its lodges accessible to all and to enable guests with disabilities to enjoy the cultural and nature-based experiences offered in this private nature reserve. Huasquila now has seven fully accessible bungalows and accessible pathways throughout its infrastructure. The staff are trained to accommodate people with different disabilities and to enable them to participate with the other guests in the experiences offered to all guests by using a specially adapted wheelchair. They have trained other service providers, like rafting and kayak operators, to enable people with disabilities to participate.

2024 Silver Winner: Trans Stories Brasilia, Brazil
www.samasamainternational.org

Jayni Gudka established Sama Sama International to make the tourism industry more inclusive of marginalised and disadvantaged communities and their stories. Based on the understanding that “people make places,” Trans Stories builds on the experience Jayni has gained from her work as CEO at Unseen Tours, a social enterprise that provides opportunities for people affected by homelessness to curate and lead walking tours of London. Trans Stories walking tours provide an alternative lens through which tourists and locals can see the city of Brasilia, providing an opportunity for people to hear the stories and experiences of Trans women, challenge their own prejudices, and uncover the hidden secrets that are not on the popular tourist trails of the city. The judges recognised how innovative this approach is and how it contributes to the aspiration that tourism broadens the mind.

Wired Amazon is redefining the role of ecotourism in conservation, proving that responsible tourism can generate economic opportunities for indigenous communities while reinforcing cultural identity and environmental stewardship. By engaging a diversity of stakeholders—communities, tourism businesses, researchers, and global volunteers—Wired Amazon has demonstrated that conservation succeeds when it becomes a shared responsibility. Wired Amazon benefits local communities and science, a rare combination.

Wired Amazon engages volunteers in citizen science to develop long-term data sets accessible to international sciences supported by AI-assisted analysis of drone footage, camera traps and bioacoustics monitoring. Through Zooniverse, over 15,000 online volunteers have been engaged in classifying images from AmazonCam and analysing tree phenology data for Aero botany, accelerating research while fostering conservation awareness, enabling researchers to process data faster than traditional methods, demonstrating the potential of digital citizen science in conservation. Wired Amazon has launched the Tambopata Macaw Project, and expanded bio acoustic primate monitoring to areas outside protected zones.

Integrating scientific research into tourism creates direct financial incentives for conservation while empowering communities with knowledge and technical skills. The Ese’Eja Native Community of Infierno has fully integrated Wired Amazon into their ecotourism operations at Posada Amazonas, embedding scientific research into their visitor experiences. This has led to greater local ownership of conservation efforts, with community members actively participating in data collection, wildlife monitoring, and habitat protection.

The judges were impressed by what Rainforest Expeditions has achieved, proving that research-driven ecotourism can enhance visitor engagement and generate conservation funding, and hope that others will adopt and adapt this highly replicable approach to delivering ecotourism. Sonene and Palma Real, have adopted similar approaches, strengthening conservation efforts beyond national parks.

2025 Silver Winner: Estancia Cerro Guido
www.estanciacerroguido.com

The Fundación Cerro Guido Conservación manages over 100,000 hectares of ecologically significant land adjacent to Torres del Paine National Park, of which 2,000+ hectares are under active restoration. Rewilding is focused on restoring predator-prey dynamics through the natural recovery of pumas and guanacos. By encouraging nature to regenerate, there is a contribution to carbon sequestration. They offer traditional low-impact wildlife tourism experiences and opportunities to participate in conservation research.

Their Guardian Dogs Initiative has successfully reduced puma predation on livestock by 85%, decreasing retaliatory killings and fostering coexistence between ranchers and wildlife. Former puma hunters have been retrained as wildlife guides, transforming their knowledge into a resource for conservation-based tourism. This initiative has fostered a sense of responsibility and collaboration between conservationists and the local community. By empowering ranchers with the tools and knowledge to coexist with wildlife, they address a critical gap: the lack of viable solutions for human-wildlife conflict that don’t involve harm to either side.

2025 One to Watch: Kapawi Ecolodge
www.kapawi.com
The judges were impressed by the recovery of this ecolodge, resulting from the decision by three local communities: Kapawi, Kusutkau, and Suwa, to renovate and rebuild the lodge.  The judges hope to see a further application with evidence of a nature-positive impact.

In 2022, there was only one man left who could play calypso in Tortuguero. Calypsonian Caribbean music was not being taught or played often, and it was in danger of being lost. In 2024, 42 children were learning to play their traditional music. The Tortuga Lodge is one of five Böëna Wilderness Lodges, which has a Conservation Fee used to support community, conservation and cultural projects. That fee pays the teacher’s salaries, and funds, music equipment, uniforms and transport for teaching and presentations. The judges were very impressed by this initiative, which they consider to be highly replicable. Who will follow?

2024 Silver Winner: Art Hotels, Ecuador
https://arthotelsecuador.com/

The Art Hotels Micro Entrepreneurs programme works with local people who are experts in what they do, from weaving using ancestral Looms to recycling copper and immortalising it in art, from preserving local species with their communities to teaching guests the importance of ancestral knowledge in cooking. The Art Hotels assist them with training in financial management and marketing, working with them to develop products that attract high-end clientele. The Micro Enterprises can then sell their products to Art Hotels guests and others at a fair price point. The Micro Enterprises are “the safe keepers of culture and traditions that are in danger of getting lost, just because it is not an economically sustainable way of life and younger generations do not see it as their path.”

2024 One to Watch: Journey Mexico, Mexico
http://www.journeymexico.com

Journey Mexico has partnered closely with the Hacienda Mundo Maya Foundation in the Yucatan Peninsula to strengthen the capacities and skills of the Mayan communities, helping to promote the identity, recognition, and preservation of Maya culture whilst working towards eradicating poverty and the social marginalisation of the communities by rescuing traditional Mayan medicine and herbalism, strengthening the health of families, improving access to primary care and education and improving housing and infrastructure. The judges were interested in their Responsible Tourism Fee and would like to see the initiative again with more detail on the impact.

Amazonas Explorer prioritises low-impact travel styles such as trekking, biking, and rafting over more carbon-intensive alternatives.  They maintain a fleet of E-Bikes, supported by in-house mechanics, for accessible, low-emission travel through the Sacred Valley, trips are locally run, with locally sourced food and materials wherever possible, significantly reducing transport-related emissions and supporting small suppliers. The judges recognise that this is much more than a simple outsourced carbon offsetting scheme.

Guides and office staff regularly take part in tree-planting activities.  Trees are planted by hand, using no machinery or chemicals, and cared for by the same communities who benefit from their long-term environmental value. In 2024, their campaign focused on the community of Quishuarani in the Lares Valley, within the Siete Cataratas conservation area—a fragile ecosystem under increasing pressure due to climate change. Working alongside ECOAN, Acción Andina, and the local community, 370 community workdays planted 20,000 queuña saplings (Polylepis sp.) and 200 Gynoxys sp. and 4.55 hectares of high-Andean forest were restored. 

Unlike many offset schemes that rely on international carbon credits or remote tree-planting initiatives, their regenerative project is hyper-local. They plant slow-growing high-altitude trees like Queuña in the same highland regions where their trips take place. Alongside local families, Amazonas Explorer staff join in the planting, and their travellers fund it through their trips, at the rate of two trees per travel day.  The local communities are involved in every stage, from nurseries to planting and monitoring.

2025 Silver Winner: La Selva Ecolodge & Retreat
www.laselvaecolodge.com  

La Selva Eco-Lodge & Retreat is a luxury sustainable lodge located in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. The judges recognised that La Selva was taking replicable measures to reduce emissions before offsetting residual emissions. They introduced a hybrid battery and inverter energy system powered by stored solar/grid energy, cutting diesel generator runtime from 24 to 17 hours daily—a 30% operational reduction, saving ~ 8.4 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually  Across the lodge, they introduced LED lighting, efficient appliances, enhanced room insulation and schedule operations to minimise energy waste. Unusually, they invested their cost savings, around $12,285 in annual diesel savings in community health, education, and renewable energy, including a solar initiative at a local school.

2025 One to Watch: Antarctica21
www.antarctica21.com

Antarctica 21 pioneered the air-cruise model, increasing access to Antarctica. They are active members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). The Responsible Tourism Awards recognise businesses and destinations for particular practices. In this case, the judges wished to recognise their e-gasoline initiative, which may assist in validating the use of e-fuels. They are piloting synthetic e-Gasoline in the Zodiac fleet aboard their expedition vessel, Magellan Explorer. During the 2023–2024 Antarctic season, they used 4,000 litres of e-Gasolina 93 octane to fuel, their 12 Zodiac boats. The synthetic fuel is produced at the HIF Haru Oni plant in Punta Arenas, Chile, using biogenic CO₂ and green hydrogen, powered by the region’s abundant wind energy. The e-fuel was used without requiring modifications to the existing outboard engines, demonstrating both technical feasibility and operational simplicity.