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The Educational Travel Community's 2011 Responsible Tourism Showcase Award is open to all ETC members or to any organization, company, project, or program nominated by an ETC member.

The application deadline is November 15, 2011.

All applicants must meet the pre-requisites specified below and must demonstrate the merit of their responsible practices, which may include activities such as traveler philanthropy, company contributions to local social and environmental causes, service and volunteerism, educational programs, local community involvement, respectful workplace practices, and stewardship of the environment.

All applications are evaluated on their strength in meeting the Award Criteria:

1. Making positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage of areas visited and involving the local people in conservation decisions.

2. Generating greater economic benefits for local communities while minimizing negative economic, environmental, and social impact.

3. Providing enjoyable and educational experiences for visitors that engender respect between them and the natural and cultural environments.

4. Offering a strong community-based tourism component and other significant efforts in responsible tourism.

ETC’s Responsible Tourism Committee and Executive Advisory Council serve as the selection committee for the Responsible Tourism Showcase Honoree recipients. While runners-up will not receive an award, they may be invited to present their best practices at an ETC Conference session.

Please be advised that ETC retains the right to publish, in print and online, all materials submitted as part of the Responsible Tourism Honoree application. Cash recognition gifts are disbursed to the project and/or communities instituting responsible tourism initiatives and are intended to help enhance the project in some way.

Application Pre-Requisites:

•The individual, company, or organization making a nomination must be a member of ETC (whether conference-level or virtual-level). Self-nominations are accepted.

•The nominee must have been operational for at least one year and must be market-ready to accept and provide services for educational travel groups and/or FIT clients.

•The nominee must offer a strong program meeting the Award Criteria noted above, demonstrating admirable environmental, cultural, educational, and/or volunteerism principles.

Benefits to Responsible Tourism Showcase Honorees:

•$1,000 monetary award to support the enhancement of the program, project, or product. Additional monetary awards may be given to the runner-up honorees pending the availability of funds from year to year.

• Recognition at the ETC Conference Opening Plenary session. If the  winner chooses not to attend the ETC Conference, its best practices still will be featured and an ETC Conference attendee may be able to accept the award on behalf of the Honoree.

•Opportunity to participate in at least one ETC breakout session  
related to Responsible Tourism.

•Exposure to major university, library, zoo, and museum travel  
planners.

•Year-round website recognition with the winner’s contact  
information and a link to the winner’s website, if available.

Click here to complete the 2012 Responsible Tourism Showcase Application by the deadline of October 4, 2011.

If you wish to provide additional supporting materials, including up to four digital photos, media links, and any articles published about the project or program being nominated, please e-mail them directly to etc@travelearning.com by the application deadline. Additional materials are encouraged but will not be accepted in lieu of the required application. Please contact us if you have any questions. Thank you for your participation!