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DESTINATION RØROS FINALIST FOR TOURISM FOR TOMORROW AWARD

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announces that Destination Røros, Norway is one of three finalists for the Tourism for Tomorrow Destination Stewardship Award.

Every year the industry leader World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) recognises the very best in sustainable tourism with the globally renowned Tourism for Tomorrow Awards which are among of the very highest accolades in the global travel & tourism industry.

Destination Røros is finalist in the category Destination Stewardship, and has received this prestigious recognition for the destination’s outstanding work with a sustainable tourism programme which incorporates social, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits as well as managing a multi-stakeholder engagement. The other finalists are Misool Eco Resort, Indonesia and Tanabe City, Japan.

This year’s winners and finalists will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Tokyo, Japan in mid-April. This is one of the most distinguished and notable awards within the global travel and tourism industry, says Linda M. Ramberg, Director of Tourism. The local tourism and travel industry should be proud – and celebrate, she encourages. - This is an immense recognition of not only recent years efforts, but also the inherited culture in the Røros region and the sustainability of an entire community. Four years ago, stakeholders in the destination company participated in an extensive strategic process to identify our strengths and opportunities. Sustainability became one of the focal points for our work and are proud to see the enthusiasm among the local businesses in this work that has led us to yet another global acknowledgement.

Hilde Bergebakken, manager of the national pilot project on sustainable development, is currently host to a national sustainable tourism conference in Røros. –What better way to open a conference, than to invite the entire conference to join in on the celebration, she smiles. Only a couple of months ago, Bergebakken accepted the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award for Best Destination and she is honoured and thrilled to receive yet another international recognition. –The nomination itself, is a huge victory, she says. This is the first time a Norwegian organisation has been nominated. The region has a history of sustainable development of the World Heritage Site and the national parks in the region. In recent years, the destination has worked with an extensive knowledge- and service educational program, sustainable waste handling, environmental policy and environmental certification. Destination Røros works according to a sustainability policy and also offers a sustainable business development programme to its members.

The panel of judges comprises 12 internationally acclaimed experts in sustainable tourism that has won increasing levels of respect among key audiences and is led by Costas Christ. Costas is Editor at Large for National Geographic Traveler and also serves as Director of Sustainability for the Virtuoso global travel network. During the next month, the Røros region will be visited by the jury for an on-site verification visit before the winner selection. The judge will seek to verify the information presented in their award application and meet with local community representatives, company employees, project partners, government officials, and also tourists and guests of the finalist to gain further insights into the finalist's sustainable tourism efforts, practices, and the quality of guest experience.

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards focus on four key categories. These categories show how destinations can guide their tourism development according to sustainable tourism principles, to recognise best practices that are helping to protect rare and endangered species and safeguard nature; and how tourism, carefully planned and managed, can make a positive contribution to poverty alleviation, local economic development, and cultural heritage preservation while providing an excellent overall guest experience.

For a full list of finalists, see the press release from WTTC: http://bit.ly/zSIE2e