And the shortlisted projects for 'Best Wider World Tourism Project' are...
The shortlisted projects in this category have been listed in alphabetical order.
Running over 1,000km between Africa and Asia, the Bedouin Trail is an intercontinental hiking passage connecting the ancient capitals of Petra and Luxor. Created in separate stages over 10 years, the Bedouin Trail opened in its entirety in 2023, bringing three community-grown tourism projects together: the Red Sea Mountain Trail, Sinai Trail – which won a BGTW award in its infancy in 2016 – and Wadi Rum Trail. The Bedouin Trail traverses a nation of nomadic heritage, deeply connected in identity and culture, but divided by the modern borders of the Middle East. Owned, managed and guided by a cooperative of Bedouin tribes, it shows its region in a Bedouin voice, creates jobs that help keep critically-endangered knowledge and skills alive and stands as a monument to a civilisation of great antiquity whose nomadic heritage is an overlooked but precious part of both the Middle East’s present and our collective human past.
Charleston, South Carolina, US
Nominated by Mary Moore Mason and Jonathan Thompson
Located on the wharf where nearly half of African American slaves arrived in America, this unique museum is a profound space of courageous curiosity, and an important beacon for compassion, equality and historical learning.
Originally proposed by the mayor of Charleston, the museum’s $100 million funding came from numerous organizations and individuals. Its fully accessible waterfront building was designed by a prominent African American architectural firm with climate resilience in mind. Local people in numerous fields were consulted from the outset about its message and means of conveying it, and many of its employees are local. South Carolina residents also get a sizeable entry discount. There are links to other key African American sites throughout the state and a programme to help visitors trace their African ancestry. Among the displays is the family tree of Michelle Obama, whose ancestor was one of the slaves who arrived in Charleston.
The Pekoe Trail is an exciting new 22-day, 200-mile network of hiking trails through the Sri Lankan tea country.
Funded by the European Union and USAID, this epic socially sustainable hike has been designed for responsible travellers with a love of meeting people and respect for their culturally rich traditions.
The diverse trail has been purposefully developed to connect many culturally interesting spots from important hill station towns, through time-locked villages with ancient festive traditions, old colonial train stations, and tea museums telling the human story. One of the key goals of the project is to protect and preserve both the physical and cultural heritage of the Sri Lankan tea country.
The trail was conceived and designed to increase the flow of responsible travellers to some of the most remote communities in the Sri Lankan tea country, creating an economic corridor where tourist dollars reach as many people as possible.
Welcome to The Taproom, a real ale pub in Maun, Botswana, where award-winning beers have a feel-good flavour: every sip helps save elephants and transform farmers’ lives!
Fronting the Okavango Craft Brewery, the pub opened in 2021 near the Okavango Delta, home to around 200,000 elephants. Millet is the main crop here, but it’s also favoured by elephants, leading to intense human wildlife conflict.
Local NGO Ecoexist helped farmers relocate their plots away from elephant paths and taught them more sustainable agricultural methods, producing a greater yield. In a win-win situation giving elephants a tangible value to farmers, Ecoexist buys surplus millet at a premium, and turns it into beer for The Taproom.
The pub holds monthly awareness-raising ‘Conservation on Tap’ evenings with experts, and hosts popular ‘brewing for conservation’ brewery tours (US$25). Crucially, another 200 farmers have been trained in elephant-aware practices, with more to come. Cheers to that!
The Trans Bhutan Trail is a 403-kilometre route that for the first time in 60 years will allow people to walk, run, or cycle from Haa in the west of Bhutan to Trashigang in the east. The trail dates back to the 16th Century, when legendary runners, or garps, crossed the country on foot to deliver messages between Bhutan’s fortresses, while monks used the footpaths to commute between seasonal residences. However, the introduction of Bhutan’s first tarmacked road in 1962 meant the trail was soon forgotten. With fewer hikers, bridges collapsed, stone steps crumbled, and the trail vanished into forest and farmland.
Thanks to the efforts of over 900 furloughed workers during the pandemic, in 2022 Bhutanese royalty inaugurated the newly restored Trans Bhutan Trail. Its aim? To encourage locals and tourists to connect with Bhutan’s more remote communities with minimum impact on the environment.
Now select one of the other shortlisted projects to review...
Best UK and Ireland Tourism Project
Best Europe Tourism Project