2009 Global Vision Awards
A rainforest alliance. A restored garden.
A LEED-certified hotel chain. Evidence that travel can change the world.
From November 2009
By Tanvi Chheda , Yolanda Crous , Jaime Gross , Darrell Hartman , Kathryn O'Shea-Evans
You’ve heard it here before:
Travel can change the world. And in a year filled with bad news, it’s great to have something to celebrate. The 17 winners of Travel + Leisure’s 2009 Global Vision Awards—from the globe-spanning Walt Disney Corporation to a one-man tour company in South Africa—are transforming, in ways large and small, not only how we travel, but also the way we think about the world. Read on for the latest and best efforts at cultural preservation, environmental conservation, and community-building through tourism.
Historic Preservation
Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia
Just two hours from Siem Reap and Angkor Wat lies the lesser-known—but no less majestic—stone temple complex of Banteay Chhmar. Commissioned in the 12th century by the Khmer king Jayavarman VII, the site in recent years has fallen victim to vandalism, looting, and disrepair. Since 2008, Global Heritage Fund, a conservancy based in Palo Alto, California, has led efforts to stabilize the complex and its elaborate bas-relief galleries. The nonprofit’s mission is dual: protect one of Cambodia’s great historic treasures and engage the neighboring community by employing Khmer specialists and developing a model for sustainable tourism in the area. globalheritagefund.org.
For a full list of winners, click here.
|