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India ICRT Awards 2023

January 6, 2023
Harold Goodwin
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This page can be translated into Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi and Urdu - use the box in the top right of the screen to translate this page.

Gold winners are entered into the WTM Global Responsible Tourism Awards.  Don’t miss out. Request a form to apply – it’s quick, easy and free. It is a three-step process:

  1. Decide in which category you would like to enter
  2. Request an application form using the form at the bottom of this page
  3. Complete the application in English or Hindi  and email it back to 2023awards@icrtindia.org along with any evidence you wish to submit

Any queries about the awards, should be to 2023awards@icrtindia.org

The ICRT India Awards are being promoted with the support of Fairfest Media ( TTF and OTM) and will be presented at BLTM - Business + Leisure Travel and MICE at the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi 29-30 September. The Gold winners in each category will automatically be entered into the WTM Global Responsible Tourism Awards. Closing date for entries 30th June 2023. 

India is now the world's leading Responsible Tourism destination.   In 2021 India won four of the six Global Responsible Tourism Awards presented at WTM, London. In the ICRT Awards for India in 2022 some very strong contenders were recognised, they can be found here. In 2022 Lemon Tree Hotels and Water Street, Kerala won two of the six Global Award categories. 

In 2021 the World Travel Market launched Global Awards.  The Gold winners in each category from the four regions: India, Africa, Latin America and the Rest of the World are entered into the Global Awards presented at WTMLondon in November each year.

रिस्पॉन्सिबल टूरिज्म पार्टनरशिप (RTP) में वैश्विकपुरस्कारों को चलाने में विश्व पर्यटन बाज़ार (WTM) कीभागीदारी है।  रिस्पॉन्सिबल टूरिज्म पार्टनरशिप (RTP) केप्रबंध संचालक हेरोल्ड गुडविन, सभी निर्णायक पैनल केअध्यक्ष हैं । जो यह सुनिश्चित करते हैं कि ग्लोबलअवार्ड्स कार्यक्रम एक सुसंगत प्रक्रिया है।  भारत में हमआईसीआरटी इंडिया के साथ काम कर रहे हैं।

Harold Goodwin, the Responsible Tourism Partnership's MD, chairs all the judging panels to ensure that we have a consistent process across the Global Awards programme. In India, we are working with  ICRT India.

Being recognised in the WTM Global family of  Responsible Tourism Awards is an important way of demonstrating that you are taking responsibility and creating sustainable travel and holiday experiences.

There are 6 categories for the WTM Global Awards in 2023
  • Best for Tackling Plastic Waste
  • Best for Meaningful Connections
  • Best for Local Sourcing, Craft and Food
  • Addressing Climate Change
  • Best for Diversity and Inclusion
  • Best for Nature-Positive Tourism
  1. Best for Tackling Plastic Waste 

Plastic waste is one of the major environmental crises impacting the health of our planet. The tourism industry generates waste through single-use plastics. The sector also suffers from plastic waste generated by others which pollutes water courses and beaches and adds to littering in destinations. Destinations and tourism businesses can address plastic waste by banning single-use plastics, removing plastic from public spaces and nature, and disposing of it safely. Initiatives that upcycle waste plastic and sequester it, generating sufficient revenue to pay for waste plastic to be collected, can take the plastic waste out of our environment at scale. Our oceans require urgent action at scale. The judges are looking for examples where a tourism business or destination has developed ways of removing plastic waste.

  1. Best for Meaningful Connections

Some forms of tourism build relationships between visitors and communities through the experiences they provide, treating visitors as "temporary residents"; they generate repeat 'guests' who will return many times, some yearly. Storytelling plays a role in creating meaningful connections. These benefit both the host and the guest. Where the local community is empowered in shaping the tourism offer, they will, as hosts, encounter tourists who value their place and what it offers. The guests have a great holiday, recommend the place to their friends and relatives and are likely to return.

  1. Best for Local Sourcing, Craft and Food

Sense of place contributes to the tourist experience. Local tastes of food and beverages, soft furnishings, and art and craft souvenirs enrich the visitor experience and the local community by creating additional livelihood opportunities. These are complementary products that grow the local tourism economy. The livelihood benefits of tourism for local communities are greater when tourism businesses, tour operators, guides, accommodation providers, restaurants, cafes, bars and tourism authorities and local governments encourage the development of local craft and food production for visitors.

  1. Addressing Climate Change

Each year the impact of climate change becomes more evident and, for many, more extreme. Drought, floods, wildfires, and extreme weather conditions cause devastation for communities and businesses in destinations on all continents. The judges are looking for examples of initiatives which

  • reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport, accommodation, attractions and tourism services in destinations, and
  • Increase the resilience of tourism businesses and destinations in the face of climate change.

The Responsible Tourism Awards aspire to recognise businesses and destinations addressing climate change and to encourage others to adapt and adopt similar initiatives. We must increase our resilience to live with climate change and reduce emissions to avoid making it worse for our children.

  1. Best for Diversity and Inclusion

Tourism relies on diversity. We travel to experience other peoples' places, climates, built heritage, lived culture and the world's diverse nature. But how diverse and inclusive is our industry?

The judges are looking for examples of inclusive tourism, in employment and in the experiences offered to tourists. The judges are seeking to recognise

  • tourism businesses that avoid gender, ethnic and LGBTQ+ discrimination and which employ the differently abled; and
  • businesses and destinations which have created safe and meaningful visitor experiences for women, the differently abled, LGBTQ+  and travellers from the diaspora, making accessible to all our cultural diversity.
  1. Best for Nature-Positive Tourism

Wildlife and the natural environment are important motivations for travel. Nature is essential to our industry, those who transport travellers to wildlife destinations, those who provide accommodation, and the tour operators and guides who market it and make it accessible. The judges are seeking examples of tourism businesses and destinations that reduce negative impacts and positively impact the maintenance of the natural environment and biodiversity.


ICRT India Awards 2023

You can find all the previous winners in India here Join Them

Chirag Munjani from Rural Pleasure explains why he entered the RT Awards and what he gained

Harshvardhan and Eesha of No Footsteps explain why they entered the RT Awards

© 2023 The Responsible Tourism Partnership 
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