Award recognizes travel companies exhibiting excellence in social and environmental responsibility

AUGUST 13, 2013 (New York, NY) —Today Condé Nast Traveler, the most trusted name in travel, named Big Five Tours & Expeditions as one of its 2013 World Savers Award winner.  The award is bestowed upon travel companies with exceptional achievement in social and environmental responsibility.

This year, out of 174 applicants, Condé Nast Traveler has chosen Big Five as one of 14 top travel companies to receive the World Savers Awards.

Big Five received the World Savers Award in the category of “Tour Operator: Doing It All.”

“We are deeply honored by this award,” said Ashish Sanghrajka, president of Big Five.  “The definition of sustainable tourism keeps evolving as we must.  This prestigious award serves as inspiration for us to continue this journey to rewrite the definition once more.”

The awards are announced in the September issue of Condé Nast Traveler, on newsstands nationwide on August 20, 2013. The full list is published online at: www.CNTraveler.com/worldsavers.

“These winning travel companies and destinations are powerful forces for sustainable, responsible, and eco-friendly travel. They also offer service, style, and great adventures to guests and visitors.  Our readers ask us, ‘Can having amazing travel experiences also help change lives?’ and thanks to these companies – the answer is yes,” said Condé Nast Traveler editor in chief Klara Glowczewska.

WORLD SAVERS AWARDS METHODOLOGY:

For the seventh annual World Savers Awards, applications were accepted in eight sectors—small hotel chains (fewer than 20 properties), large hotel chains, city hotels, small lodges and resorts (fewer than 50 rooms), large lodges and resorts, tour operators, cruise lines, and a new category for destinations—and assessed in five areas: Education Programs, Environmental and Cultural Preservation, Health Initiatives, Poverty Relief, and Wildlife Conservation, by a panel of judges.

The panel of judges included: Jeffrey Sachs (The Earth Institute), Laurie David (producer of An Inconvenient Truth), Olivia Wilde (Artists for Peace and Justice), David Alport (UN Special Envoy and MDG Health Alliance), Luigi Cabrini (UNWTO’s Sustainable Development of Tourism), and Dorinda Elliott (Condé Nast Traveler)

Big Five Tours & Expeditions

With more than 40 years experience in luxury adventure travel, Big Five Tours & Expeditions offers luxury guided travel to Africa and the Mediterranean,  Asia and the Orient, South and Central America, and South Pacific.   For information about Big Five and sustainability, visit www.bigfive.com/40ways.