Have You Heard?! We Won a Global Responsible Tourism Award!
Gorilla Highlands was among the winners at the 2022 WTM Responsible Tourism Awards celebrated in London on Monday. We took the global “Contributing to Cultural Heritage” category and also won gold in the “Rest of the World” competition. After a decade of revealing natural and cultural landscapes of our region to discerning travellers, we were now featured at a truly massive event …
The “WTM” in the award title stands for the World Travel Market, a leading tourism industry trade fair held annually in the capital of the United Kingdom — the very place where we first heard about the concept of responsible tourism seven years ago! This time we weren’t physically there, so the award was kindly received by Adama Bah, a responsible tourism consultant from the western shores of our continent.
The judges appreciated our partnership with indigenous Batwa “Pygmy” communities in Uganda, our cooking competition bringing together chefs from Congo, Rwanda and Uganda and the homestays and remote hiking routes we have developed in Uganda and Rwanda. They also acknowledged our former management of the Bakiga Museum that sadly disappeared with the passing of Festo Karwemera … We hope to work hand in hand with the Karwemera family to make his fantastic collection publicly available again.
This recognition at the world stage will be a much needed boost in our upcoming efforts to get fair access to Echuya Forest for our Batwa partners, and to pilot youth spaces for Rwandan youth. Cultural heritage will stay at the core of everything we do.
Miha
Congratulations. In the Gambia I am working with some if your country women: Ursa and Jasmina. Together with other Gambians they produce
my-gambia.com.
The work you do is great. Keep it up!
Thank you, Adama, for standing for us! I certainly hope to visit Gambia one glorious day and see what is happening there! Pass my greetings to my compatriots whenever you see them.
This is well deserved. I’m elated at the recognition especially as your work cuts across every age spectrum in the region, creating border-values, while still finding time to share your experience by lecturing in the university classroom. 😀
Going forward I’m expectant of more accolades as your work gets the attention it deserves. 👏
That is most kind of you, my student!
You truly deserve this and so much more. You have really set the standard for responsible – FUN -community based tourism. I have loved every moment of your excellent tours. I’ve met such interesting people – both local and international – and learned so much.
Interested to see how this latest award helps promote your work.
Wishing you all the best.