The awards launched in 2003 under the stewardship of the WTTC, recognise and are meant to demonstrate best practise including helping to improve the livelihoods of communities and supporting the protection of natural and cultural heritage through sustainable tourism development. The awards are presented in four (4) categories namely; destination stewardship award, conservation awards, community benefit award and global tourism business award. Over 160 entries were received this year, from over 45 countries.
Applicants included governments, NGOs, businesses, or community organisations on behalf of destinations. Botswana Tourism Board entered the Okavango Delta Ramsar Site (ODRS) in the Destination Stewardship category. This entry is in recognition of the Delta's contribution to the upliftment and advancement of tourism and the livelihood of not only people living around it, but that of the people of Botswana. The Botswana government supports and encourages sound sustainable tourism development, with initiatives taken to develop policies to guide the development of the sector, emphasizing regard for the environment. Some of the instruments developed so far include the National Ecotourism Strategy, the Ecotourism Best Practise manual and the recent introduction of the Eco Certification Programme, which are all intended to guide and recognise efforts made in sustainable tourism development.
