NEW YORK, NY (August 18, 2008) – Conde Nast Traveler today announced the winners of the magazine’s 2008 World Savers Awards, honoring travel companies from around the world for their leadership in social responsibility in five key areas: poverty alleviation, cultural and/or environmental preservation, education, wildlife conservation and health.
“The Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Awards recognize companies that are stepping up to the challenge of improving our world,” said editor-in-chief Klara Glowczewska. “This year’s finalists are setting standards in social responsibility in ways that we hope will become models for the entire travel industry.”
The 2008 World Savers Award Winners are:
Campi Ya Kanzi (Kenya), for Poverty Alleviation. The solar-powered safari camp is staffed primarily by local tribesmen.
Cristalino Jungle Lodge (Brazil), for Preservation. This is one of the most biodiverse lodges in the Brazilian Amazon where owner Vitoria Da Riva Carvalho has almost single-handedly saved more than 25,000 acres of threatened rainforest.
Journeys Within (Cambodia), for Health Initiatives. The tour operator’s non-profit arm has added more than 180 water wells to the landscape around Siem Reap helping nearly 4,000 Cambodians to escape water-related disease. They also offer scholarships for university students, hold free English classes, and provide micro-loans for small businesses in Cambodia.
Montage Laguna Beach (Laguna Beach, California), for Education. The hotel’s employee-driven outreach effort supports marine and language education, as well as local arts programs in the local school district.
Phinda Private Game Reserve (South Africa), for Wildlife Programs. Phinda has implemented an animal restocking program that added more than 2,000 animals to the land. Eighteen years ago, nearly all of the animals on this 57,000 acre reserve had been killed by farmers, ivory hunters and a misguided government fly-eradication program.
Vail Resorts (Vail, Colorado), for Preservation. The company offsets all of its electricity usage by supporting the development of wind farms.
The 2008 World Savers Awards are featured in the September issue, which hits newsstands on Tuesday, August 19. World Savers Award finalists will be recognized at an award ceremony on September 23 at the 2nd Annual Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Congress in New York City.
World Savers Awards Methodology: To determine the award finalists and winners, Conde Nast Traveler editors reviewed 142 applications and narrowed them to 38 finalists. An independent panel of 17 judges, comprised of leaders from the travel industry and non-governmental organizations, rated how applicants exercised social responsibility in 5 key areas: poverty alleviation, cultural and/or environmental preservation, education, wildlife conservation and health. There were 7 categories of travel company: airlines, cruiselines, hotel chains, individual city hotels, large resorts, small resorts and tour operators.
Below is a complete list of winners, runners up and honorable mentions. The list is also available online at cntraveler.com/makeadifference.
The 2008 Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Awards:
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Winner: Campi Ya Kanzi
Runner Up: Accor
Honorable Mentions: Cathay Pacific, Disney Cruise Line, Journeys Within, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa
PRESERVATION
Co-Winners: Vail Resorts and Cristalino Jungle Lodge
Honorable Mentions: Disney Cruise Line, Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa, Journeys Within, Montage Laguna Beach, Virgin Atlantic Airways
EDUCATION
Winner: Montage Laguna Beach
Runner Up: Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts
Honorable Mentions: Abercrombie & Kent, Disney Cruise Line, Lufthansa, Nkwichi Lodge, Phinda Private Game Reserve
WILDLIFE
Winner: Phinda Private Game Reserve
Runner Up: Disney Cruise Line
Honorable Mentions: Banyan Tree, Campi Ya Kanzi, Cathay Pacific, Metropolitan Touring, Montage Laguna Beach
HEALTH
Winner: Journeys Within
Runner Up: Air France
Honorable Mentions: Jai Mahal Palace, Holland America, Nukubati Island Great Sea Reef, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Six Senses
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- World Savers Award finalists will be recognized at an award ceremony on September 23 at the 2nd Annual Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Congress in New York City.
- Eighteen years ago, nearly all of the animals on this 57,000 acre reserve had been killed by farmers, ivory hunters and a misguided government fly-eradication program.
- An independent panel of 17 judges, comprised of leaders from the travel industry and non-governmental organizations, rated how applicants exercised social responsibility in 5 key areas.
