Over 200 tourism organisations, initiatives, businesses and short films have been selected for the next stage of the Awards across 12 categories. The 206 tourism businesses, organisations and initiatives come from a record 69 countries worldwide and with the inclusion of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators in the longlist this year, 2015 is the first year the World Responsible Tourism Awards Longlist encompasses every continent on the planet.
Justin Francis, Awards founder and managing director of organisers Responsible Travel comments:
“The incredible variety of organisations which have made it through to the longlist this year demonstrates just how widely recognised and important responsible tourism is becoming around the world.
We’re looking at everything from individual hotels and tiny local organisations to tourism giants.
Each and every one of these organisations is playing an important role in championing responsible tourism – the submission forms have given us an exciting taste of what they are doing and we’re looking forward to discovering more about their unique and inspirational stories”.
The longlisted organisations will now be put through their paces with the Awards customary rigourous questioning, which will then be shared with the judging team.