Welcome to the 2027 ICRT Responsible Tourism Awards!

We’re a non-profit supporting the changemakers of the future and, if you’re doing great work that other people can learn from we want to hear from you. Our awards have been running for more than 20 years and have always been free to enter. Our mission is to find and celebrate the most innovative and replicable work from around the world.

CATEGORIES: The six Responsible Tourism Award categories for 2027 are:

1. Nature Benefiting Communities
2. Addressing Climate Change
3. Access for People With Disabilities
4. Communicating Responsible Tourism
5. Rebalancing Tourism and Addressing Overtourism
6. All–Inclusives Can Be Responsible

REGIONS: You can enter one of six regional ICRT Responsible Tourism Awards depending on where your work is based. We will update this list with specific deadlines once each is finalised.

1. Africa in partnership with WTM Africa, deadline end of 2026
2. Latin America in partnership with LATA, deadline spring 2027
3. Europe sponsored by easyJet holidays, deadline spring 2027
4. Southeast Asia, deadline summer 2027
5. The Indian Subcontinent, deadline summer 2027
6. And a worldwide regional award to cover all other geographies, deadline summer 2027

GLOBAL RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AWARDS
The Global Responsible Tourism Awards sponsored by the Belize Tourism Board is not open for public entry. Once we have announced all the Gold winners from our six regional awards they are then go onto compete against each other for a global award The winners are on Monday 1 November 2027. Be inspired by the 2026 Global Responsible Tourism Award winners.

JUDGING PROCESS AND TIPS

Details of how we judge the Responsible Tourism Awards are listed here How we judge the Responsible Tourism Awards – ICRT GLOBAL And these are some top tips based on the judging process from 2026:

• Facts, facts, facts we do ask you to provide evidence of your impact and its always sad when we get an application which looks like it’s doing great work but it doesn’t back up its claims with evidence. If you say you have trained community leaders tell us how many. If you’ve increased income for local communities tell us by how much. Share a link to your reporting.
• Innovation and replicability make sure that you tell us what you’re doing differently from anyone else. Why is this award-winning? Have you shared your ideas and influenced with other people? Can others learn from what you’re doing?
• Please only enter one, or two awards in each region. The judges can decided to move your entry from one category to another if they decide that is appropriate. But people who apply for multiple categories often end up duplicating and diluting the impact of their submission.
• Don’t rely on AI we understand it can helpful to use AI, but we want to hear your views thoughts and words and its often really clear if someone has asked an AI to create the answers for them. These entries only tend to respond to what we put in the criteria and application form. But remember, we’re looking for innovation. You may have done something we’ve not thought of before, or asked for.
• Consider entering a different category If you’ve won a gold or silver in the past two years well done, but please don’t enter the same award category this year unless you’ve got evidence of substantial change. Consider a different award category instead.
• One to watch winners we want to hear from you! We give a “one to watch” award to people who are starting on their journeys or haven’t yet built up enough evidence of their impact. But if you’ve ever had a “one to watch” Responsible Tourism Award and you’ve made great progress since, then let us know. We like to celebrate our award winners’ progress.

Download the application forms here and start thinking about your application for 2027

Upload your completed form here before the relevant deadline.

2027 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AWARDS CRITERIA

NATURE TOURISM BENEFITTING COMMUNITIES

For the last couple of decades, we have been recognising tourism businesses as having a positive impact on nature and wildlife.  The charismatic megafauna found in national parks and other protected areas, primarily in developing countries, attracts travellers from countries that have hunted out most of these species and where reintroduction initiatives are resisted.

The ecotourism slogan, “leave only footprints, take only photographs”, reveals the problem. The gazetting of land  to conserve wildlife generally requires the removal and exclusion of those who previously lived in, or had access to, the reserve area for grazing, fodder, thatching grass, honey, fishing and meat. People in the buffer zone pay the cost of conservation and suffer raids on their crops by wildlife. The IUCN defines ‘human-wildlife conflict’, as the ‘struggles that emerge when the presence or behaviour of wildlife poses an actual or perceived, direct and recurring threat to human interests or needs, leading to disagreements between groups of people and negative impacts on people and/or wildlife’. According to the IUCN, human-wildlife conflict is becoming more frequent, widespread, and serious.

In the 2027 Responsible Tourism Awards, we are looking for tourism businesses and  conservation organisations which are making a real contribution to the livelihoods of local communities in and around wildlife and nature destinations whether that is “non-consumptive” tourism such as photographic safaris or “consumptive” tourism such as hunting safaris.

This includes, but is not limited to businesses and protected area managers that:

• ensure that local communities benefit from nature-based or wildlife tourism by the creation of employment for local communities within the protected area, in conservation or tourism services, including guiding and accommodation;
• sourcing produce, souvenirs for resale, art and craft for soft furnishing, storytelling dance and music for accommodation within the protected area
• encouraging and supporting the development of tourism services (accommodation, food and beverage) wildlife and cultural experiences, performances, storytelling, art and craft and souvenirs in the buffer zone
• creating opportunities for those living in a buffer zone to have a tourist experience , as Responsible Travel does with Trip for a Trip.

2. ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

Human-caused global heating has already raised the average global temperature by about 1.3°C, and rising sea temperatures are causing coral bleaching and reducing the oceans’ ability to absorb CO₂. The Global Tipping Points report published for COP30 in Brazil reveals the scale of the ecological crisis we are causing and living through. 

The travel and tourism industry makes a significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, driving climate change, and suffers the consequences: drought, wildfires, and storms, with consequent damage to infrastructure, natural and cultural heritage and landscapes. Ski resorts are closing, glaciers are retreating, mosquito-borne dengue and West Nile virus are reported in Europe, there is increasing evidence that seasonality is changing as holidaymakers avoid peak temperatures, and cooler destinations are beginning to see higher visitor numbers.

The pace and extent of climate change are now such that, whilst we need to continue to address greenhouse gas emissions, we also need to adapt to the dramatic changes it is causing. This year, we are seeking examples of replicable good practice in emissions reduction and/or adaptation. 

We are looking for destinations and businesses:

• Which are actively taking measures to reduce their emissions and the risks posed by climate change and/or,
• Developing accommodation and experiences designed to attract new client groups, possibly at different seasons,
• and destinations working to create more climate change resilience in the travel and tourism sector.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Initiatives to address potable water supply resilience, including water management and desalination, at the destination and business levels.
• Addressing fire risk by creating fire barriers, reducing the flammability of infrastructure, banning campfires and barbecues, and educating locals and visitors about how to avoid causing fires, to be vigilant and to respond if they see a fire breaking out.
• Developing new tourism experiences in former ski areas and attracting visitors to see natural regeneration in wildfire areas.
• Measures to reduce the risks associated with coastal flooding caused by subsidence, erosion, sea level rise, storm surge and surface water flooding.

3. ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AS CLIENTS AND EMPLOYEES

One of the aspirations of Responsible Tourism is to enable everyone to participate in tourism whether as a traveller, holidaymaker, or employee. For the travel and tourism industry to be fully inclusive and enable families to travel together, it needs to ensure access for people with disabilities and enhance their experience. Too often excluded from employment in our industry, people with disabilities have skills to offer.

We are looking for nominations and applications from businesses and destinations that :

• Can share how they have created and facilitated better holidays for people, adults and children, with disabilities
• Or have effectively employed more people with disabilities
• Have made themselves accessible to people with disabilities, understand that there are a range of disabilities, and taken responsibility for removing barriers to access and enjoyment of tourism and employment in the industry. 

We are looking for examples to recognise that can encourage others to engage and make the changes necessary to achieve a greater equality of access for people with disabilities

We recognise that there is a range of language used to refer to people with disabilities, the UN has issued advice, but we know that other terms are used. Please do not be put off applying. Actions speak louder than words. There are a wide variety of initiatives, and we hope through the awards to find more worthy of recognition and replication. Too often disabled travellers do not appear in the adverts and brochures.

4. COMMUNICATING RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

The latest research from Booking.com reveals that  73% of travellers want the money they spend to benefit the local community, and two thirds (69%) want to leave places better than when they arrived. “Back in 2016 less than half (42%) of global travellers believed they travelled more sustainably. By 2025, 93% of global travellers say they want to make more sustainable travel choices and to some extent have done so.”

Accepting that this data reflects the aspirations of travellers the travel and tourism sector has much to gain when it delivers services that enable travellers to satisfy their aspirations.

For the first time in the Responsible Tourism Awards we are looking for businesses and destinations which actively used their Responsible Tourism practices and achievements in their marketing in print or on the internet, communicating it through their PR and marketing or evidenced in the guest experience.

• How do you communicate the Responsible Tourism elements of your offer in the marketplace?
• Do guests in your destination or business experience the difference that Responsible Tourism makes to their holiday?
• Does it enhance the guest experience?
• Do you get positive feedback from guests?
• Does it drive repeats and referrals?
• Do you produce and share Responsible Tourism impact reports?

5. REBALANCING TOURISM AND ADDRESSING OVERTOURISM

Overtourism describes destinations where hosts or guests, locals or visitors feel that there are too many visitors and that the quality of life in the area, or the quality of the experience has deteriorated unacceptably. Overtourism is the opposite of Responsible Tourism which is about using tourism to make better places to live in and better places to visit. Where tourism becomes unbalanced, often both visitors and guests experience the deterioration concurrently.

We are looking for examples of initiatives where organisations have worked to rebalance tourism, OR where they have worked to prevent overtourism becoming a problem in the first place. Prevention is the best possible solution though many destinations don’t realise tourism has become unbalanced until local residents and visitors start complaining. Destinations which undertake local as well as visitor sentiment surveys can flag issues before they arise.

The reasons and causes for unbalanced tourism are very different in every location. It is essential that careful diagnosis of the specific causes, or risks of unbalanced tourism for visitors or residents is undertaken before taking effective action.

There are many solutions being trialled around the world to either address the threat and reduce the impacts of overtourism; rebalancing activity so tourism creates better places to live in and visit.

Whether you are aiming to prevent or rebalance tourism, we would like to hear about the particular cause of overtourism you have addressed and how you achieved a degree of success. Please just focus on one successful initiative you have undertaken.

A primary purpose of the Responsible Tourism Awards is to identify and share ways of making tourism better, to spread good practice. Sharing your experiences will help others.

6. ALL-INCLUSIVES CAN BE RESPONSIBLE  

All-inclusive holidays and resorts are widely criticised, but other all-inclusive travel experiences are not. There are all-inclusive safaris in Africa, many in national parks, yacht charters in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Americas, and all-inclusive cruises. There are all-inclusive holidays for the disabled and their families too.

The criticism of all-inclusives often appears to be tinged with disdain, dismissed as an inferior form of tourism which denies economic opportunities to local businesses and assumed to be delivering a third-best experience for those who book them, unless, of course, it is a luxury all-inclusive. They remain popular, a Disneyland Resort offers “a dream trip … that fits your family’s preferences and budget.”

With mounting concern about the impacts of overtourism on the guest experience and on local communities, we are looking for all-inclusives that contribute to reducing negative impacts and enhancing the positive.

We are looking for all-inclusives that:

• Are genuinely and practically inclusive, enabling families with low or modest incomes to take a holiday knowing that the costs are within their means.
• Provide holidays for people with disabilites travelling alone or with family.
• Prioritise sourcing locally produced food and beverages, soft furnishings staff uniforms etc.
• Employ local staff on full-time or seasonal contracts, decasualising their employment and providing additional staff benefits.
• Employing local people to provide entertainment and sports activities
• Encouraging the purchase of local arts and crafts by showcasing local products and the work of artists and crafters within the hotel or resort.

In the all-inclusive Responsible Tourism Awards category in 2025  Foxes Safaris won Gold as did Club Marvy  demonstrating that Responsible Tourism can be everyday practice in an all-inclusive offering. Watch the conversation with Jane Fox about their all-inclusive approach and its impacts                        

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License