Journey With Deb » Travel & work http://www.journeywithdeb.com Scribbles of my life unfolding Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:55:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Travel with a difference! http://www.journeywithdeb.com/travel-with-a-difference/ http://www.journeywithdeb.com/travel-with-a-difference/#comments Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:59:11 +0000 Deborah http://www.journeywithdeb.com/?p=702 The last 2 months took me by storm. My initial thoughts were to scribble my work trips when I started in August but that became a far cry with events steadily lined one behind the other. I will attempt to take a beeline backwards (without boring you) – the last two months have been good – in fact it’s been GREAT!

As part of my work, I am required to travel to selected destinations around Southeast Asia to verify s document called the Responsible Tourism Checklist. These destinations we cover have demonstrated outstanding practices in responsible travel, hence earning the title “finalists” of Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Awards.  The trips have been a huge eye opener for me since traveling is my passion and this was my golden opportunity to go behind the scenes to witness what resorts, hotels and home-stays do to make a positive difference by minimizing impact on the environment, contributing back to local communities and protecting the culture and heritage of the place. Noble indeed!

This year there were 8 finalists on the list – and I personally visited 4 of them.  Watch a slideshow and read more on these destinations below… My personal favourite (as a traveler) would be Soneva Fushi at the Maldives. It was pure luxury mixed with Maldivian charm and hospitality.

It’s not over yet… the Awards will finally be given to the deserving winners at the Award cocktail happening in the last week of October. Since August, I’m a reformed traveler on personal lookout for responsible tourism operators. Where’s the next stop?? Stay tuned… :)

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