World Expeditions long-listed for
World Responsible Tourism Awards
A
USSIE ADVENTURE TRAVEL company
World Expeditions has been announced as
one of the 75 organisations long-listed for
the2016WorldResponsibleTourismAwards,inthe
“BestInnovationbyaTourOperator”category.The
nomination recognises World Ex’s “10 Pieces Litter
Collection” initiative, with the awards scheduled for
WorldResponsibleTourismDay(November8,
2016),ataspecialceremonyatWTMLondon.
This initiative has been put in place in some of
World Ex’s litter hotspots, such as Nepal, Bhutan
and Indonesia and the company also plans to add
Peru to the program as well. The “10 Pieces Litter
Collection” initiative works by inviting travellers to
select walking tracks to become a part of that
program. Then, the travellers are sent a rubbish
collection bag and gloves for use in collecting the
litter on their nominated trek. Once collected, the
litter is given to the local trek guides who
incinerate the litter using World Ex’s incinerators,
located at the company’s Eco-Camps.
It’s a great idea and a fantastic way for travellers
to offer a “thank you” for being able to access the
destination’s awesome treks and is dead-simple to
implement, as World Ex CEO Sue Badyari states:
“Basically, we are asking travellers on select trails
to pick up 10 pieces of rubbish each day. It may
sound like a nominal number but, in reality, most
peoplepickupwaymorethanthateachdayand,
inagroupof12travellers,that’s120piecesaday.
“We believe it’s our responsibility to encourage
our travellers to be aware of the packaging that
tourismhasboughttothesecountriesandina
small but immediate way help remove it.”
10 Pieces Founder, Lisa Vitaris, said she is very
excited that World Expeditions has been long-
listed for the awards, and encourages other travel
companiestofollowtheAussiecompany’slead.
“The “10 Pieces” initiative harnesses the
collective power of travellers around the word to
make a positive impact on the environment by
takingoutmorethantheytakeinandmakingour
worldabetterplace.
“I would encourage other adventure tour
companies to follow World Expeditions’ lead and
get involved,” she says.Above and top: Adventure travellers have become
more and more conscious of the effect litter can
have on the countries they visit.