GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route tourist attraction Monkeyland, together with its three sister sanctuaries, has won the accolade of Major Tourist Attraction at the global 2019 Sustainable Tourism Awards.
Co-owner of Monkeyland, Lara Mostert, went to Miami to collect the award on behalf of the South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance (Saasa), the holding company of these institutions.
The handover took place on 15 September during the opening ceremony of the Skål World Congress, held from 14 to 21 September on board the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas.
Andrew Rogers, president of Skål International Garden Route, with which Saasa is affiliated, expressed delight about the win.
Skål International is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world and an affiliated member of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
"As an international organisation of tourism industry leaders, Skål International is a powerful force in the travel and tourism industry to initiate change and encourage the conservation of the environment in order to promote tourism and travel," he said. "We adopted the Global Code of Ethics in Tourism, and also support the Sustainable Tourism-Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP initiative)."
A total of 56 entries from 25 countries competed this year. The awards were launched in 2002 and any company from the public and private sector, NGOs, government agencies and educational institutions may submit an entry in one of nine categories.
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