The first Indian Responsible Tourism Summit and Awards, brought to you by Outlook Traveller and the World Responsible Tourism Awards was held in New Delhi on January 19, 2017. The day-log summit featured talks by author Amitav Ghosh, Dr Venu Vasudevan of Kerala Tourism, Dr Harold Goodwin, Director of the International Responsible Tourism Centre, Ananya Dasgupta of EQUATIONS, Garry Wilson of TUI Group and others. The award ceremony was held at the end of the summit. Here is the list of winners of the IRTA. Our hearty congratulations to the winners and we hope to see all the participants back next year, along with other practitioners of Responsible Tourism in the country and the region.
BEST RESPONSIBLE TOURISM PROPERTY
Gold: Farm of Happiness, Maharashtra (farmofhappiness.com)
Silver: Dewalokam, Kerala (dewalokam.in)
Silver: Atali Ganga, Uttarakhand (ataliganga.com)
BEST CONTRIBUTION TO WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Gold: Snow Leopard Conservancy—India Trust, Jammu & Kashmir (snowleopardhimalayas.in)
Silver: Madras Crocodile Bank Trust & Centre For Herpetology, Tamil Nadu (madrascrocodilebank.org)
BEST FOR CULTURAL IMMERSION
Gold: The Blue Yonder, Puducherry (theblueyonder.com)
Silver: Rural Pleasure, Gujarat (ruralpleasure.com)
BEST COMMUNITY-BASED HOMESTAY PROJECT
Gold: Biksthang Heritage Farmhouse, Sikkim (biksthang.com)
Silver: Kabani Community Tourism & Service, Kerala (kabanitour.com)
Silver: Daragaon Village Retreat, Sikkim (sikkimvillagehomestay.com)
BEST INNOVATION BY A TOUR OPERATOR
Gold: Planet Abled, Delhi (planetabled.com)
Silver: Grassroutes Journeys, Maharashtra (grassroutes.co.in)
BEST BUILT-HERITAGE CONSERVATION
Gold: Arco Iris, Goa (arcoiris.in)
OVERALL WINNER
Snow Leopard Conservancy—India Trust, Jammu & Kashmir
Planet Abled, Delhi