NatureAir, the world’s first carbon neutral airline, has been selected as one of three finalists in the 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards conservation category.
This year the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) received a record number of entries from more than 40 countries and six continents.
“It is a great honor to be recognized by the WTTC for our efforts in sustainable tourism and conservation. We consider this to be a motivator to continue searching for new ways of doing business that add positive value to the social and environmental challenges we face in the communities we serve,” said Alexi Huntley Khajavi, NatureAir Commercial Director.
NatureAir compensates 100% of its greenhouse gas emissions through its preservation and reforestation of tropical forests in southern Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity zones of the Osa Peninsula. Since the projects beginning in 2004 the airline has compensated for nearly 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide though the protection of more than 500 acres of tropical forests. In addition, the company’s innovative use of bio-diesel (a mix of vegetable oils and recycled cooking oils) is estimated to reduce 160 tones of CO2 emissions per year.
“The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards judging process goes beyond just what a company says it is doing in sustainable tourism. Our next phase of judging involves an on-site expert evaluation of each finalist to assess what they are doing in practice, leading up to the selection of one winner in each category,” said Costas Christ, Chairman of Judges.
Since 2003, the WTTC’s prestigious awards recognize best practices in sustainable tourism in four different categories – Destination Stewardship, Conservation, Community Benefit and Global Tourism Business.
The winners from each category will be announced at the 9th Annual Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Brazil this May.
