2009 ECOTOURISM
SPOTLIGHT
AWARD
PLANETA.COM

2009 Nominees
 Quito Visitors' Bureau
 Responsible Tourism
Guide to the Mekong
 Ecotourism Laos
 Failte Ireland
 Mexico's National
Commission of Natural
Protected Areas.

2009 Winner
 Quito Visitors' Bureau
 Responsible Tourism
Guide to the Mekong
 Ecotourism Laos
 Failte Ireland
 Mexico's National
Commission of Natural
Protected Areas.

BACKGROUND
 Government websites that engage locals and
potential visitors about ecotourism and responsible
travel are eligible to win Planeta.com's annual
Ecotourism Spotlight Award.

OBJECTIVES
 The Ecotourism Spotlight Award was developed to
create incentives for communication, opportunities
for conversation and a reward for participation
among government leaders working toward
ecotourism and responsible travel.

WORLD TOURISM
 The winner is announced in celebration of World
Tourism Day (September 27) to spotlight best
practice in responsible travel and ecotourism.

BENEFITS
 All nominees receive links and promotion from
Planeta.com.
 Winners receive international recognition and
bragging rights.

NOMINATIONS
 Municipal, regional, national and international
government websites are eligible.
 Only the managers of government websites can
nominate their own sites. Nominations were
accepted April 1 - June 30, 2009.

SELECTION CRITERIA
 Websites that demonstrate innovative practices in
spotlighting sustainable practices will be featured
as nominees once the sites add a link and logo to
the Ecotourism Spotlight Award.

VOTING
 Voting took place via popular count from July 20 to
the end of August. Respondents will be asked to
review all the sites and choose their favorite.
Multiple votes will not be permitted. Honesty counts!

ANNOUNCEMENT
 The results are tabulated and the winner announced
in advance of World Tourism Day (September 27).

TIPS
Websites are encouraged to …
 1) Converse with locals and visitors.
 2) Create an informative, content-rich website that
provides detailed information for visitors seeking
eco-friendly, people-friendly and place-friendly
travel. Provide direct links to local operations.
 3) Add the logo and link for the Ecotourism
Spotlight Award on your website.

LOGO

Nomination Form

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE
ECOTOURISM SPOTLIGHT AWARD
PLANETA.COM

ORIGIN
 During the 2006
Communication and
Sustainable Tourism E-
Conference we
proposed "there could
be an award for
National Tourism
Boards websites that
illustrate a country's
sustainable tourism
practices.

DEVELOPMENT
 In developing the Ecotourism Spotlight Award, we
opened nominees to any government initiative,
including tourism and conservation institutions and
expanded the range of nominees to include
municipal, regional, national and international
institutions.

2007-2009
 Ecotourism Laos won
the Spotlight Award in
2007, 2008 and
2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
ron mader
www.planeta.com
twitter.com/ronmader