A company offering guided tours through Canada for people with disabilities and a discovery trail of the ancient Moche civilization of Northern Peru are among the winners of this year’s UNWTO Ulysses Awards. The awards ceremony will be held during the Gala Dinner of the ‘UNWTO Algarve Forum on Tourism and Science: Bridging theory and practice’ (1-3 June 2011) in Vilamoura, Portugal.
The UNWTO Ulysses Awards reward initiatives and projects undertaken by public tourism institutions, tourism enterprises and non-profit institutions that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of tourism through innovation, in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
The prestigious UNWTO Ulysses Prize will be awarded to Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, for his outstanding contribution to tourism knowledge.
The 2011 UNWTO Ulysses Awards winners are as follows:
For Innovation in Governance:
· China Tourist Satisfaction Index – China Tourism Academy (China)
· Development of the ‘Ruta Moche’ as a Tourism Destination – Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Peru)
· Environmental Certificate “Friend of the Environment Establishment” – Madeira Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Transport (Portugal)
For Innovation in Enterprises:
The Artemisa project: transforming organic waste into biofuel for more sustainable tourism – Ingelia (Spain)
Mayakoba Tourism Resort Mexico: sustainable and responsible tourism development – OHL Desarrollos (Mexico)
TravelSat Competitive Index: global survey benchmarking international tourists’ satisfaction and trip quality – TCI Research (Tourism Competitive Intelligence) (Belgium)
For Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations:
Connecting People with the Environment, W James Whyte Island Reserve: tourists volunteering to protect biodiversity – Conservation Volunteers (Australia)
Development of Accessible Tourism in Slovenia (PREMIKI): accessible tourism for those with special needs – SENT Slovenian Association for Mental Health (Slovenia)
La route accessible (The Accessible Road): guided tours for people with disabilities – KÉROUL (Canada)
Special Jury Awards to:
Cultural Villages Development Project – Alghat Cooperative Association (Saudi Arabia)
UruguayNatural.tv – Ministry of Tourism and Sport (Uruguay)
European Cemeteries Route – Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe (Italy)
The Ulysses Awards Ceremony will be one of several important events set to take place during the UNWTO Algarve Forum. The Forum represents a milestone in the theoretical and practical dimensions of tourism as it aims to debate the main issues and strategic challenges faced by tourism in the modern world. In doing so, it contributes to building a Global Consensus on Tourism Policy and Governance which will set a reference for any institution involved in the tourism sector.
The event, organized by the UNWTO Knowledge Network, is structured in three parallel sessions: (A) Development and Competitiveness, (B) Climate Change and Sustainability, and (C) Governance and Tourism Policy. The UNWTO Algarve Forum will also address strategic positioning as well as product and process innovation, among other topics.
The UNWTO Knowledge Network Scientific Committee will present three executive papers for discussion at the plenary sessions in Vilamoura and participants will be asked to vote on these important issues. The outcome of this participative process will set the framework for the UNWTO Algarve Consensus.
