(PRWEB UK) 8 May 2014

The World Responsible Tourism Awards 2014, sponsored by the Oman Ministry of Tourism have now launched - a chance for holidaymakers and the travel industry to honour the heroes and share the stories of the most exciting and enduring responsible tourism experiences in the world.

Organised by responsibletravel.com, the 11 year old Awards search for and celebrate the responsible tourism heroes providing the most memorable holiday experiences while giving back to local communities and the environment.

Holidaymakers and the industry can suggest an Award winner by nominating them at http://www.worldresponsibletourismawards.com/nominations

Justin Francis, Awards founder, and Managing Director of responsibletravel.com commented; The winners we uncover are the heroes and the trendmakers of the industry - those holiday providers with the vision, compassion and originality to shake things up. With the new categories we have a chance to celebrate some new outliers, discover fresh ideas, and add some diverse new holiday experiences to our wish-lists too.

New year, new heroes

This year the Awards have expanded their roster of categories to 12, reflecting some of the key contemporary issues in responsible tourism - including Best animal welfare initiative and Best for people with disabilities.

Voters will also notice new categories for Best city hotel and Best for beach tourism, as well as a new creative category - Best responsible short film - seeking nominations for those films and documentaries that inspire us to take more responsible holidays.

Speaking about the new categories, Harold Goodwin, Chair of the Judges, commented; Animal welfare is an important issue - for UK travelers in particular - and it will be interesting to see what initiatives are nominated. With the rise of YouTube and other video sharing platforms, we are seeing lots of new films. Well be looking for pieces which convey the experience of responsible tourism, where you can see the difference.

Offering a hint of what Judges are expecting with the new people with disabilities category, Goodwin said; I have seen and heard about activity centres in Brazil and South Africa where people with disabilities can take on the same challenges as their friends and family - expect to be surprised and inspired, as I was.

Originally posted here:

Holidaymakers called on to vote for the heroes of Responsible Tourism