Top green holidays revealed

Tourism may be getting a bad rep for its negative impact on the environment but there are plenty of holidays out there that make the right kind of impact, improving the lives of local people and even helping preserve the planet.

When it comes to finding out the green holidays making the biggest differences it can be difficult to know where to go and who to spend your money with.

However, at last week's World Travel Market in London, a series of awards were handed out, making it easier for environmentally-conscious holidaymakers make their choices.

The top award went jointly to tour operator Intrepid Travel and the Ol Malo Lodge in Kenya.

The tour operator, which has flagship high-street stores in London and Melbourne, stood out for its efforts in empowering local communities and providing educational guidelines for travellers to follow.

For travellers keen to visit Kenya, the Ol Malo Lodge was reckoned to be the best green holiday destination.

Justin Francis, one of the judges of the awards, commented: "This eco-lodge and charitable trust is situated in the deserts of Samburuland in Northern Kenya, on what was an overgrazed cattle ranch.

"Their key achievement to date is the establishment of The Ol Malo Eye Project, which focuses upon the eradication of trachoma – a cause of painful blindness in over 80 per cent of adults over 30 – from the Ol Malo area. This is an infectious and preventable disease, the root of which is poverty."

Best Destination, a new category for 2006, will delight skiers looking to ease their consciences, as the top award went to Aspen, Colorado, which was commended for leading the development of environmentally-friendly skiing in a way that could be rolled out across Europe.

Other top award-winners include the super energy efficient Orchid Hotel in Mumbai, India, a large hotel with almost no wastage, and the profit-sharing small hotel of the Il N’gwesi Community Lodge in Kenya, which has its own special cohabitation system that does not damage local wildlife.

Fans of diving can enjoy the marine wildlife with a clean conscience at the Wakatobi Dive Resort in south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Employing 150 people from the villages in the area, the resort helps the environment by getting locals to set up reef sanctuaries, in what is an over-fished region where the reefs are being destroyed.

For the full list of award winners see www.responsibletravel.com XXX