Fenyan Ecolodge, a leading ecolodging company in Jordan, has been listed among the finalists for the 2015 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), a forum for the travel and tourism industry, has revealed 15 finalists who were shortlisted from applications that arrived from 57 countries.

The awards aim to transform the Travel and Tourism industry, based upon sustainable tourism principles, by educating and inspiring travel & tourism businesses and destinations about how to improve the sustainability of the sector.

Applications were received from 57 countries across all continents. In the first stage of a comprehensive three step judging process, a committee of independent expert judges carefully evaluated and selected award entries against established sustainable tourism criteria including the protection of natural and cultural heritage, social and economic benefits to local people and environmentally friendly operations.  The second phase of judging will now involve an on-site evaluation of each finalist carried out by international sustainable tourism experts. These experts will make in-depth first hand assessments of the organisations and businesses in practice. They will then be assessed by a further panel of sustainability experts, who will select the winner for each category.

Winners will be announced during the 15th WTTC Global Summit in Madrid, Spain on April 15 and 16.

The Finalists of the 2015 WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are:

Community Award finalists, whose organisations are committed to sustainable tourism leadership in local community development, empowerment and cultural heritage

• Fenyan Ecolodge, Jordan
• Grootbos Nature Reserve, South Africa
• Reality Tours & Travel, India

Destination Award finalists, who show commitment to supporting and delivering sustainable tourism best practices in their destinations:

• Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Northeast and Yilan Coast, Taiwan
• Sozopol, Bulgaria

Environment Award finalists, whose organisations and companies achieved environmental best practice through biodiversity conservation, protection of natural habitats, addressing climate change, and green operations:

• Laguna Lodge Eco-Resort & Nature Reserve, Guatemala
• Rivers Fiji, Fiji         
• The Soneva Group, Maldives and Thailand

Innovation Award finalists, who provided innovative solutions to overcoming the challenges faced by Travel & Tourism in implementing sustainability in practice:

• ABTA Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism, UK
• RED Sustainable Travel, Mexico
• TripAdvisor GreenLeaders, USA

People Award finalists, who are dedicated to the development of capacity building, training and education to build a skilled tourism workforce for the future.

• Confortel, Spain
• Global Travel & Tourism Partnership, USA
• Mountain Shepherds Initiative, India

David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC, said; “It is vital that we learn best practice from each other and raise the sector’s ethics to the highest order. The Awards, now in their 11th year, showcase the companies and organisations who are breaking new ground in sustainable tourism development. This year's finalists demonstrate that, when carefully managed, tourism can be a powerful force for improving livelihoods and protecting our planet for future generations. We want their stories to inspire others in the sector to follow their example.” – TradeArabia News Service