World Tourism Awards honours top achievers

World Travel Market 2014, ExCeL, London - World Tourism Awards, Winners, Sue Holden, Executive Director, Earthwatch Institute; Elle Reinink, European Sales and Marketing, Singita; Lasse Wassermann, Senior Program Manager, Google; Petra Nemcova, Founder and Chair, Happy Hearts Fund

The World Tourism Awards, which recognises outstanding accomplishments in the travel industry, awarded the three honourees for their commitment to conservation, sustainable tourism development, as well as providing opportunities to assist local communities in overcoming challenging times.

Singita was honoured for its vision and dedication to environmentally conscious hospitality, through the development of sustainable conservation programs and successful community projects resulting in the empowerment of local communities living and working around the twelve Singita lodges in Africa.

Chief Operating Officer, Mark Witney, commented on behalf of Singita: 'We are delighted that Singita has been recognised for its dedication to environmentally conscious hospitality and sustainable conservation. Singita was founded 21 years ago with these key principles at the heart of the company and now more than ever we plan to continue to lead the way in our innovative approach to sustainable tourism, conservation and the empowerment of local communities in Africa for the next 20 years and beyond.'

Earthwatch Institute was awarded for its mission to promote a sustainable way of life through education and field research, while Google was honoured for developing Google Glass enabling photographers to share their travel experiences in real time, directly into the homes of people whose mobility is limited