BGTW ANNOUNCE 2006 TOURISM AWARDS

06 November 2006

A project to preserve rural Madagascar, a museum dedicated to one of Britain’s best-loved authors and a Cambodian employment scheme to help the poor are the winners of the British Guild of Travel Writers’ (BGTW) prestigious 2006 Tourism Awards.

The winners were announced at the BGTW’s gala dinner held last night at the Savoy Hotel, London. They were selected from finalists in three categories, nominated by BGTW members, in recognition of both their strong tourism potential and benefits to the local community and environments. The tourism departments of Kansas and Oklahoma sponsored this year’s awards

The Durban Vision, Madagascar, won the coveted Globe Award for the best major tourism project worldwide that attracts more than a quarter of a million visitors a year.

Hilary Bradt, who nominated the project, said: “Two thirds of Madagascar’s living things are found nowhere else in the world, that’s around 150,000 species of amazing animals and plants. Yet in the last 20 years half of the island’s forests have been destroyed by slash-and-burn agriculture and illegal logging.”

The Durban Vision has resulted in one million hectares of land being protected, with a further million planned this year.

Hilary added: “Nature is the island’s main foreign-currency earner. Around 275,000 eco-tourists will come this year to see the enchanting lemurs and other endangered wildlife. Protecting their habitat is vital. Local communities are also the beneficiaries. A percentage of national park fees are already being used to build schools and clinics, and to train the slash-and-burn farmers in sustainable food production to supply the increasing number of eco-lodges.”

The award for the Best Overseas Tourism Project went to the Shinta Mani Hotel and Institute of Hospitality in Cambodia, which creates work for local people.

Nigel Tisdall and Juliet Clough, who jointly nominated the initiative, said: “Shinta Mani is a 18-room hotel in Siem Reap, the gateway for visiting the famous temples of Angkor. While Cambodia’s tourist industry is growing fast, there is still chronic poverty in the countryside along with much landmine-related suffering. Under it’s own initiative, Shinta Mani started an Institute of Hospitality that trains ‘the poorest of the poor’ to work in the local hotel industry.

“We visited this project last autumn and were impressed with the way Shinta Mani brings the benefits of tourism direct to local people who might otherwise stay marginalised, and the unpushy manner in which guests have a chance to participate in this.”

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, won the award for the Best UK Tourism Project. The museum, in the village where the author lived and worked for nearly 40 years, opened last June with the aim of telling his life story, caring for his archive and promoting a love of creative writing. Two galleries are devoted to his life and work and the story centre creates a magical literary world for visiting youngsters.

Polly Evans, who nominated the museum for the award, said: “For me the most fantastic thing about this project is its story centre. It reaches out to children of all backgrounds and convinces them that reading, writing and story telling can be tremendous fun. The museum also has an active outreach programme aimed at those whose parents may not be natural museum goers and also caters for two school visits each day.”

Each year the BGTW hosts the awards ceremony on the eve of the global trade tourism event World Travel Market, held in London.

Runners-up in the three categories were:

The Globe Award for the best major tourism project worldwide:

• The Holocaust Memorial, Germany – Berlin’s poignant monument and visitor centre, which is the country’s only Holocaust memorial.

• Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Scotland – The rebirth of Glasgow’s landmark gallery, the most visited museum outside London, following a three-year restoration.

Best Overseas Tourism Project:

• Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, Canada – two scenic rail journeys minimising environmental impacts and boosting local employment.

• The Crooked Road, USA – Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, a 253-mile route linking tracing the state’s musical sites.

Best UK Tourism Project:

• Jersey Heritage Trust – restoring a chain of historic coastal forts and transforming them into unique holiday homes.

• SS Great Britain, Bristol – Brunel’s famous steam ship that has been fully restored and is a permanent museum piece in its original dry dock.

ENDS

Note to Editor: Photographs of the awards presentation can be downloaded from www.simply-photography.co.uk.

Founded in 1960, the British Guild of Travel Writers is an association of over 270 professional writers, editors, photographers, producers, radio and television presenters involved in the world of travel.

For further information contact:

Jeannine Williamso

BGTW

Tel: 01323 641078 or 07710 858493