GREEN DESTINATIONS STORY AWARDS | NIUE WINS ISLANDS AND SEASIDE CATEGORY

The 2021 Green Destinations Story Awards took place last Friday, 12 March. The globally recognised award ceremony showcased the most inspirational stories of resilient tourism practices from the 2020 Top 100 Competition – sponsored by ITB and GLP Films.

Applicant ECO Destinations Lord Howe Island, Townsville and Niue Island (South Pacific) were selected as nominees for the Green Destinations Story Awards category ‘Islands and Seaside’. Niue was selected as one of the three finalists within the category and was announced the winner in Friday evening. Ecotourism Australia congratulate Niue on this international achievement.

Niue’s story centred around their journey to becoming a ‘Dark Sky Nation’, ensuring a sustainable future for their skies through both projection of the important aerial wildlife species, preservation of cultural astrological stories for future generations and an opportunity for innovative employment through night sky tourism. You can read Niue’s story here.

Ecotourism Australia’s Chief Executive Rod Hillman said he was thrilled that one of Ecotourism Australia’s applicant ECO Destinations had won this prestigious award.

“Becoming a successful ECO Destination is about sharing stories and experiences, Niue’s success shines light on the opportunity that exists for destinations beginning their ECO Destination journey”, he said.

Only destinations that are part of the 2020 Top 100 list were eligible for nomination to the Green Destinations Story Awards, in one of the following categories:

Communities and Culture
ITB Earth
Nature and Ecotourism
Islands and Seaside
Covid and Tourism
Green Destinations: People’s Choice
In selection for this award, Green Destinations assessed criteria such as: how innovative the approaches are; how effective they are to solve real problems in tourism sustainability; and to what extent they can be applied elsewhere.

Congratulations again to Niue Island who won the ‘Islands and Seaside’ category. As international borders re-open, visitors have the unique opportunity to share in the world’s first and best Dark Sky experience.

Source : EcoTourism Australia, 15th March 2021