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RTP is among the seven finalists selected for the prestigious World’s Leading Responsible Scheme at the World Travel Awards
Recognised as the hallmark of excellence, the worlds most prestigious awards program has selected RTP as a finalist for World’s Leading Responsible Scheme at the World Travel Awards 2009. World Travel Oscars which has been acknowledging the leading travel products around the globe for 15 years. To celebrate the enormous achievements of the industry and to focus on the high-level networking aspect of the program, WTA will organise the Grand Tour Winners Dinner in 8th November in London. Furthermore, the WTA will establish a bigger platform for green and responsible tourism products by introducing the Green awards ceremony. WTA events are a forum to access, network and do business with the people who shape the industry and its future.
Charmarie Maalge of the RTP said that “This is delightful news for everyone at the RTP and its heartening to know that our work has been discovered for nomination and for voting for this prestigious recognition. This is excellent acknowledgment of our groundbreaking work in responsible tourism in Sri Lanka.
About World Travel Awards
- The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry.
- Now celebrating its 15th Anniversary, the awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive.
- Thousands of votes are cast by travel professionals from 167,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe.
- Votes are cast globally by fellow industry professionals in 919 different categories.
- Attended by senior executives from major travel companies, operators and destinations, WTA events are universally respected as providing established, top-level networking opportunities, regionally and globally.
September 2009
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Thirty Nine (39) Sri Lankan hotels signed up to reduce their carbon footprint with the RTP
After the Greening Sri Lanka Hotels seminar held on the 3rd August 2009, thirty nine hotels have signed up registering the hotels with the RTP with the commitment to reduce the carbon footprint by implementing the RTP methodology to identify their current level of energy and natural resources usage status and to reduce energy, water and waste by 10%, 10% and 20% respectively by adopting conservational and efficiency methods.
| No |
Name of the Hotel |
Location |
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| 1 |
Bandarawela Hotel |
Bandarawela |
| 2 |
Jetwing Beach |
Negombo |
| 3 |
Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel |
Negombo |
| 4 |
Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilion |
Negombo |
| 5 |
Heritance Ahungalla - |
Ahungalla |
| 6 |
Heritance Kandalama |
Dambulla |
| 7 |
Browns Beach Hotel |
Negombo |
| 8 |
Earls Regency |
Kandy |
| 9 |
Hotel Hilltop |
Kandy |
| 10 |
Bentota Beach Hotel |
Bentota |
| 11 |
Chaaya Citadel |
Kandy |
| 12 |
Chaaya Village |
Habarana |
| 13 |
Hotel Club Oceanic |
Trincomalee |
| 14 |
Coral Gardens Hotel |
Hikkaduwa |
| 15 |
Cinnamon Grand Hotel |
Colombo 3 |
| 16 |
Eden hotel |
Beruweala |
| 17 |
Dolphin Hotel |
Marawila |
| 18 |
Habarana Lodge |
Habarana |
| 19 |
Galle Face Hotel |
Colombo 2 |
| 20 |
Club Bentota |
Bentota |
| 21 |
Jetwing Hunas Falls |
Kandy |
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| No |
Name of the Hotel |
Location |
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| 22 |
Jetwing Lighthouse Hotel & Spa |
Galle |
| 23 |
Jetwing Seashells |
Negombo |
| 24 |
Jetwing St. Andrew’s |
Nuwara Eliya |
| 25 |
Jetwing Tropical Villas |
Beruwela |
| 26 |
Jetwing Vil Uyana |
Sigiriya |
| 27 |
Mermaid Hotel & Club |
Kaluthara |
| 28 |
Mount Lavinia Hotel |
Mount Lavina |
| 29 |
Palm Garden Hotel |
Beruwela |
| 30 |
Ramada Resort |
Kalutara |
| 31 |
Randolee Resort |
Kandy |
| 32 |
Riverina Hotel |
Beruwela |
| 33 |
Saman Villas |
Bentota |
| 34 |
Serandib Hotel |
Bentota |
| 35 |
Siddhalepa Ayurveda Health Resort |
Wadduwa |
| 36 |
Sigiriya Hotel |
Sigiriya |
| 37 |
The Tea Factory Hotel |
Kandapola, Nuwara Eliya |
| 38 |
Trans Asia |
Colombo 2 |
| 39 |
Yala Village Hotel |
Tissamaharama |
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September 2009
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Greening Sri Lanka Hotels Programme Launched
Greening Sri Lanka Hotels programme commenced on the 3rd August 2009 with hotel sector committing to participate in a very ambitious programme to reduce energy water and waste in a hotels sector environment conservational drive. Among the participating hotels are the Aitken Spence, John Keells, Jetwing, Confifi group of hotels, Siddhalepha Ayurveda Resort & Spa, Saman Villas and Mermard Hotel & Club. These hotels are from the areas of Colombo, Kaluthara, Beruwela Bentota, Tissamaharamaya, Trincomalee, Galle, Hikkaduwa, Yala, Bandarawela, Kandy, Nuwera Eliya, Negombo, Habarana, Sigiriya and Dambulla.
This programme initiated by the Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) and the Travel Foundation UK is a joint collaboration supported by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) and the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL). Greening Sri Lanka Hotels is all about hotels optimization of energy efficiency and conserving natural resources towards making the hospitality sector more sustainable.
The Chief Guest on the occasion was Mr. George Michael, Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and the Guest of Honor was Mr. M.M.C. Ferdinando, Secretary, Ministry of Power & Energy.
August 2009
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MOU Signed Building a Strategic Partnership for Greening Sri Lanka Hotels
A memorandum of understanding was signed at the office of the Secretary Ministry of Tourism on the 2nd of April between the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), the Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) and the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) to involve a multi stakeholder strategic alliance for implementing ‘Greening Sri Lanka Hotels’ to introduce optimization of energy efficiency and natural resources sustainability programme designed and developed by the of the Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) with the hope of improving energy efficiency and environmental conservation as a common national strategy for the Sri Lanka hotel sector.
April 2009
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RTP helping to save lives
 The Golden Mile of the south coastal beach of Sri Lanka - Beruwella is getting a new lease of life with the responsible Tourism Partnership empowering communities to become trained community tourism operators through the Responsible Tourism Partnership. Under the beach operators (formally Beach Boys) support programme LINC, hotels and local communities have started to work together to minimize hassle to tourists.
Life saving training was started by the Responsible Tourism Partnership in Beruwela last December training over 50 communities and hotel staff and finally 16 lifeguards have been produced for the Golden Mile.
Kelum Nidarshana is 31 years old beach operator having over 10 years working experience on the beach. After 10 years his first chance of learning about tourism and getting trained as a professional beach operator is through the RTP LINC programme. He is a now a qualified lifeguard and feels that that this will help him to become a professional in the Sri Lanka tourism Industry. There are 05 members in his family. Nimesha Pushpakumari (28 yrs) his wife, Tharushi (12 yrs) elder daughter, Nimesh (07 yrs) son and Theresa (02 yrs) younger daughter.
His father & mother worked as beach vendors in Beruwela beach. After the ordinary level exam Kalum directly came to the beach. He can speak German & English languages fluently
December 2008
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I am not a Beach Boy now!
 Sujith Priyantha is 26 years old and lives in Kaluwamodara, Beruwela.. His nickname is “LUBA”. He is married, having a small child. Luba’s father too worked on the beach as a beach boy in the past, that was his occupation.
Luba says “I am different from my father’s job, I am no longer a Beach Boy, I am a community tourism operator. RTP- LINC project helped me to become a professional area guide. Now I can promote local excursions to tourists and offer better service to them. Earlier I had to hang on the hotel fence and shout and hassle tourists to catch them. Tourists don’t want to be hassled and this way I get more business. RTP- LINC project directed & guided me not to hassle tourists. Myself and a group of 72 other Beach Boys were trained and counselled for one whole year, they are all beach operators now. We offer our local excursions on a turn system, earlier the one who shouted most got more business”.
“I feel not only my profession, my life too has changed. We have a community fund where we put part of our income to do social work in the village. I am hoping to improve my professional knowledge in tourists guiding. I can speak English and also Russian & German languages”.
“I am not shamed of my profession anymore, I am not a Beach Boy now”.
March 2008
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A helping hand to local communities
Community Tourism Project LINC
Working with The Travel Foundation, Kuoni supported a ground breaking project towards building a platform for sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka.
Learning Involving and Nurturing Community, Project LINC at Riverina Hotel in Beruwela implemented by the Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) Sri Lanka has been a very challenging and rewarding project.
Some times local communities are kept away from receiving tourism benefits. At Riverina Hotel you will get an opportunity to safeguard livelihood of local beach communities and their families. Seventy two former Beach Boys have been trained and transformed to be community tourism beach operators. They now offer friendly interactions to guests. All of them coming from nearby village offer traditional knowledge about places, people and culture in Beruwela. This is difficult to match without local expertise.
We encourage guests to enquire from the Riverina Hotel reception about local excursions on offer. Some of these include visits to the historical Kande Vihare Buddhist Temple, River safari through mangrove jungles, splendid ‘Brief Garden’, Turtle Conservation Hatchery, Coconut toddy tapping and many more. LINC project Beach operators are easily identifiable by the Responsible Tourism Partnership white T shits they wear with their names printed. The entire income of the local excursions goes to the local community.
February 2008
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