A tourism organization or initiative making a significant contribution to protect and promote heritage (cultural, built, natural, intangible) can be nominated for this award. Nominees need to demonstrate how their efforts have directly contributed to heritage protection through four of the following initiatives:

• Efforts to pass on cultural and intangible heritage traditions and skills to younger generations.
• Documentation and/or copyrighting of local heritage related materials.
• Educating visitors on  local heritage  and local stakeholders, including the media.
• Sustainable financing of local heritage conservation.
• Engagement of local communities, public,  NGO and/or  private sector entities in preserving and promoting local heritage.
• Communicating your actions to local stakeholders, including the media.

This Award is open to any group, organization, tourism business or attraction working towards the protection of wild/marine life and/or expanding/restoring their local habitat or supporting biodiversity conservation e.g. a national park, marine park, biosphere or wildlife sanctuary. Nominees in this category must be able to demonstrate four of the following aspects:

• Development and successful implementation of specific policies and activities towards nature conservation.
• That your tourism initiative has made a tangible contribution to the conservation/protection of nature in the destination.
• How your nature conservation efforts have directly benefited the socio-economic well-being of local people.
• Efforts to educate visitors about local conservation initiatives.
• How your actions are communicated to other local stakeholders, including the media.

This Award is open to any group, organization, tourism business or attraction that offers an agro-tourism product, which incorporates elements of food/agriculture production, culinary output and visitor experience. Applicants should demonstrate how they have successfully achieved linkages between the agricultural sector and tenets of the tourism industry in at least four of the following areas:

• Innovative agro-tourism initiative that demonstrates experiential dimensions as an adventure product to visitors
• Offers the opportunity to sample/experience authentic local produce that has value added.
• Supports and promotes the sharing and preservation of local agro and culinary heritage.
• Fosters local trade and export development.
• Contributes to diversifying the tourism product offering of the local destination.
• Supports socio-economic development of local persons through providing a means for entrepreneurship and/or employment

Sponsor: International Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)

This Award recognizes an initiative by an individual, a group/association and/or micro and small enterprise (1 – 50 employees) which addresses social problems by applying innovative tourism development ideas. Applicants should profile any product, system, or solution, which has been created to help positively change people’s lives, and must specifically describe at least four (4) of the following parameters of their social enterprise:

• How the social enterprise is staying accountable to the people it is trying to help.
• How the enterprise is being a change agent through tourism innovation.
• If and how the innovation or idea had to be customized to suit the local context of working in the country and/or the Caribbean.
• The funding model/mechanism for the enterprise, including any novel concepts or approaches within tourism and or the Caribbean region.
• How this innovation can be applied to similar social ills in other geographical locations, whether locally or regionally.
• What changes have resulted or are being brought about as a result of the social enterprise.

Sponsor: National Properties Limited, St Vincent & the Grenadines

The product/initiative should contribute to a better quality of life in the destination and provide a unique visitor experience. It must cover five key areas of tourism sustainability selected from among the following (A-I) areas:

A. Environmental Management: water (fresh and wastewater), energy conservation/renewable energy, solid waste
B. Terrestrial or Marine Area Planning and Management
C. Destination Stewardship: sustainable tourism management in destinations
D. Local Community Involvement: training, management, benefits
E. Heritage Protection: cultural, built and natural heritage (including flora and fauna)
F. Education: staff training, communication, service excellence and public awareness
G. Safety and security: visitors and staff
H. Financial Sustainability
I. Partnership: multi-stakeholder support to economic, environmental or social initiatives
J. Innovation and Originality

Sponsor: OECS Commission

This Award is open to a CTO member destination (country, region or town) that is making solid strides towards sustainable tourism management at the destination-level through on-going and integrated initiatives and programs designed to improve sustainable tourism planning and promote widespread adoption of good practices, ensure multi-stakeholder engagement, address social and community issues, foster economic linkages, preserve cultural heritage and protect the environment. Applicants may include government agencies, NGOs, or trade associations on behalf of the destination. Nominees in this category must demonstrate sustainable tourism policies and strategies that cover four of the areas below:

• Improve long-term competitiveness of tourism businesses and destinations.
• Enhance well-being of communities as healthy places to visit, live, and invest.
• Preserve and conserve cultural, historical and natural heritage.
• Promote a sense of place and authenticity.
• Involve tourism stakeholders in decision-making.
• Communicate and promote sustainable tourism good practices to other tourism stakeholders

Sponsor: International Institute of Tourism Studies, The George Washington University

This award is open to small or medium-sized (less than 400 rooms) tourist accommodation facilities (hotels, ecolodges, guesthouses, B&B’s, camp sites, homestay facilities, villas or other). Nominees must demonstrate how they have successfully achieved four of the following results:

• Positive impact on the local supply chain or sustainable consumption practices.
• Positive impact on local communities minimizing environmental impact through environmentally sensitive architecture, operations and management (e.g. proper solid waste management, recycling, waste water treatment, energy and water conservation).
• Education of staff and guests about sustainable tourism practices.
• Support for cultural and natural heritage preservation in local communities.
• Collaboration with other private, public or non-government stakeholders to achieve sustainability good practices.
• Relevant certification, awards and marketing initiatives that highlight sustainability efforts.
• Use of sustainable transport e.g. use of bicycles, biofuels in vehicles.

This award is for a tourism enterprise, community or an entire country that manages tourism well for the long-term benefit of the destination and local people as well as visitors. Nominees in this category must show how their tourism initiatives have benefitted local communities through four of the following areas:

• Direct social and economic benefits to local people e.g. employment and business
• Creation/expansion, capacity building and transfer of industry skills through training and educational opportunities, career advancement, fair wages etc.
• Community development
• A positive contribution to the maintaining the heritage (built, cultural or natural) of the destination/community and promotion of a sense of place and authenticity.
• Opportunities for local community input and empowerment in tourism development planning
  ~ Multi-stakeholder engagement in tourism management.
• Educating locals and visitors on the sustainable tourism efforts of the enterprise, community and/or country.
• Sensitivity towards creating sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable groups, i.e. women, youth and indigenous communities.

Sponsor: Mustique Company Limited, St Vincent and the Grenadines