Sustainable tourism awards go to Italy and Germany

A project from Rimini in Italy on the integration of tourism and the environment and one from a German organisation on the development of “eco labels” won the first ‘Carmen Díez de Rivera' European prize for sustainable tourism. The awards were granted by the Balearic government in collaboration with the Royal Awards Foundation and the European Environment Agency and were presented last night by Balearic leader Francesc Antich, tourism chief Celestí Alomar and Mayor of Calvia Margarita Nájera at Calvia town hall. The project from the Rimini regional council presented “new planning policies” in tourism and environmental matters.
The German project, presented by Ecotrans, is based on the use of “eco labels” as a means of promoting sustainability in the tourist industry and among consumers. The awards, which will be presented every two years, were named after Carmen Díez, the former socialist environmental spokesperson in the European Parliament. Runners up were the projects presented by the Austrian agriculture ministry and the Maltese tourism ministry in the public administration sector, and Destination 21 from Denmark and a project presented by the Spanish hotel chain Acorn in the private sector. A special mention went to the project of the Council of Minorca.
The jury was comprised of representatives of the Royal Award Foundation, the World Tourism Organisation, the International Federation of Tour Operators and the Universities of Lund (Sweden) and the Balearics.