OneSeed Expeditions celebrates Silver at World Responsible Tourism Awards 2015
Media release: 5th November 2015
OneSeed Expeditions has been named the joint-Silver winner in the Best in Poverty Reduction category at the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2015 at World Travel Market in London.
The US tour operator was announced a Silver winner at a special ceremony yesterday at World Travel Market in London, part of World Responsible Tourism Day.
The Best in Poverty Reduction, sponsored by the Tobago House of Assembly, awards holiday providers that offer memorable experiences that support their activities in seeking to reduce and prevent poverty in a local community. The judges were looking for tourism organisation that can significantly reduce poverty in a local area and provide a working example for other providers.
In his journal ‘Progress in Responsible Tourism’ Professor Harold Goodwin, Chair of the judging panel comments on why OneSeed Expeditions has been recognised; “OneSeed Expeditions have what they describe as a ‘simple’ model , simple maybe, but certainly not common. They hire local guides, protect local environments and respect local customs - but what makes them stand out is their commitment to invest 10% of total revenue in loans to entrepreneurs in need of capital, this is done by partnering with microfinances institutions in each of the countries in which they operate. The judges were impressed by the model, the transparent reporting and the scale or what has already been achieved”.
Goodwin adds “Judging the Awards is an exacting task; the decisions which the judges take get tougher every year. The volume, quality and diversity of nominations grow each year and each category engenders considerable debate amongst the judges. The quality that we had before us this year is higher than ever - evidenced by the fact that there are joint gold winners in four of the twelve categories”.
Chris Baker, Founder of OneSeed Expeditions, commented on their win, “We’re honored to have shared the stage with so many great organizations with the same goal of making travel work for local communities and local economies. OneSeed is proud to have been recognized today and we congratulate all of those here today.”
Welcoming over 500 people to the event in London, Justin Francis, Managing director of Awards organisers Responsible Travel explained how the Awards were founded to change the face of the tourist industry. “The aim of the Awards is to inspire the tourists and the tourism industry by what is possible to achieve through responsible tourism” says Francis. “In our 12th year we have added one more inspiring winner and more remarkable stories which will shape how the industry and tourists think about the future of tourism”.
Category sponsor, the Tobago House of Assembly commented “We operate in hope that companies such as this year’s winners along with previous holders of the Responsible Tourism 'Best for poverty reduction' Award are continuously recognised for their endeavours. These contributors forge the benefits of tourism among the communities who need it most and we congratulate them on making the difference in the lives of those who are often made invisible to the outside world. All lives matter.”
A photo library of winner’s images is accessible here: http://www.responsibletravel.com/awards/media/
