The City of Cape Town is shortlisted for this year’s prestigious Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards to be held at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. The Awards will be presented to the winners at a ceremony on World Responsible Tourism Day at the WTM on 11 November.

The awards have 13 categories. The City of Cape Town is to be considered for the Responsible Destination award. It is the only municipality among 35 entries nominated in this category.

Founded by responsible travel.com in 2004, the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards are run in association with headline sponsor, Virgin Holidays, and partners World Travel Market, The Daily Telegraph and Geographical Magazine.

The Awards recognise individuals, companies and organisations in the travel industry that are making a significant commitment to the cultures and economies of local communities and contribute positively to biodiversity conservation.

The Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards are the most prestigious and competitive of their kind in the world. Now in their sixth year, the central tenet of the Awards is that all types of tourism - from niche to mainstream - can and should be operated in a way that respects and benefits destinations and local people. The awards cover categories applicable to destinations and the tourism industry in the achievement of responsible tourism.

Cape Town has a vibrant tourism industry that welcomes some 3,7 million visitor arrivals annually and contributes substantially to Cape Town’s GDP. Tourism is labour intensive and therefore has the potential to create more jobs.

Best of luck to the Mother City.

Source: cbn.co.za