(Posted 21st October 2022)
The second day of the ITB ASIA 2022, the biggest tourism fair in Asia, began with the announcement
of the Meaningful Tourism Award 2022 winners during a panel discussion about this new paradigm
for the development of hospitality and tourism. The discussion was supported by visitBerlin and
included three representatives of award-winning companies and organisations from destinations as
diverse as Antarctica and Papua New Guinea.
The diversity of stakeholders continues: from organisations who provide services to Muslim visitors
to research focusing on the healing power of travelling for mentally handicapped persons, to host
communities empowering formerly homeless persons to become city guides.
The CEO of the Meaningful Tourism Center, the organiser of the Award, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Arlt stated: “We are delighted to see how many stakeholders around the world have started to create new approaches to tourism. The jury decided to extend the scope of the process by also recognising companies and organisations with an Honourable Mention on top of given awards. Neither to see the customer as king, nor to concentrate on short-term profit and also not treating environmental issues as the only concern will create a positive future for the industry. The task is not to ‘balance’ the different
stakeholders’ interests, but aligning them in a way that benefits and satisfies the interests of all
stakeholders. The companies and organisations selected can consider themselves as being among
the avant-garde of tomorrow’s tourism development.”
The Meaningful Tourism Award 2022 was given in Gold, Silver and Bronze according to the six
categories which present the main stakeholders, namely Travellers, Host Communities, Employees,
Companies and Organisations, Governments and the Environment.
The winners of the Awards and Honourable Mentions were revealed during the Meaningful Tourism
Panel at the ITB ASIA in Singapore.
2022 was the first edition of the Meaningful Tourism Award, which will in the future be organised
annually. The Meaningful Tourism Center is based in Hamburg with several regional representations
and offers trainings, publications and workshops for private and public organisations which see the
need to move forward to a Meaningful Tourism.
