Les Trophées Horizons : the new award of the Association Acteurs du Tourisme Durable

The Actives du Tourisme Durable (ATD) network rewards and enhances outstanding, inspiring, innovative and reproducible actions in sustainable tourism. Zoom on the Horizon Trophies.

In 2022, the ATD Association launched a prize award ceremony supported by ADEME and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. His name? The Horizon Trophies .

Its purpose is to highlight and reward persuasive initiatives in terms of sustainable tourism. The jury will depart, in June 2022, the candidates for the Horizon Trophies and will thus reward an initiative in each of the twelve categories.

We offer you an overview of this committed and virtuous contest.

Association ATD

The association of Actors of Sustainable Tourism brings together more than two hundred structures engaged in responsible tourism. These represent all the trades of the tourist chain. It is only by changing and transforming the daily practices of all tourism actors that things can change.

Through a network of solidarity and connected, members work in synergy, share their solutions and transform things together. They are thus able to lift all the brakes that can arise, at some point or another, in order to establish a green and sustainable travel policy.

In addition to federating the sector around environmental issues and promoting ecological and ethical travel, ATD is an educational role. Indeed, it informs on the right moves, the current situation of the sector and provides resources to professionals. It also forms and raises awareness of sustainable development issues through online conferences and physical meetings.

Why did "responsive travel" become crucial? How to integrate this concept into its organization? How can we reconcile economic success, quality of services and products, ecological tolerance and social justice? So many questions that the association answers in order to facilitate the approach of its members. Finally, ATD, with its reputation, does not hesitate to push its members ahead of the stage. She represents these professionals involved in professional, institutional and media forums.

The Horizon Trophies

The Horizon Trophies in a few words

ATD returns in force after its previous competition, Les Palmes du Tourisme Durable (whose last edition took place in 2020), with the Trophies Horizons. The Palmes du Tourisme Durable were already a good example in the middle of the journey and responsible travel. They were awarded to tourism professionals, foreign destinations and projects in French territory, which put in place economic, environmental and social initiatives of sustainable tourism.

With this new award, the Horizon Trophies, ATD wants to go even further. The selection criteria are more demanding and show great coherence in relation to sustainable tourism issues.

Supported by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and ADEME, the Horizon Trophies want to instill change among professionals in the tourism industry and contribute to the deployment of positive impact projects. The best will benefit from a real light. This time, only French structures are invited to present their innovative initiatives, divided into the twelve sub-mentioned categories. Expert partner organizations are reviewing applications and a final jury will nominate winners in each category in June 2022.

Categories of awards

Mobility

Includes all actions to limit or reduce the carbon balance of tourism mobility. This therefore concerns the implications for soft mobility, alternatives to individual cars, last kilometre management solutions and green incentives for users.

Adaptation to climate change and resilience

It concerns actions that transform, without changing, the tourism offer so that it coincides with the effects of climate change. For example: tourism four seasons, diversification of offers, adaptation of buildings and infrastructure to climate risks.

Conservation of biodiversity and natural resources

Includes initiatives to preserve or re-introduction of biodiversity and/or to limit the use of natural resources. Any tourism development that does not alter the living can be rewarded. By this, ATD intends to reward initiatives that preserve soils, encourage the use of resources, protect local fauna and flora, allow the use of neutral maintenance products.

Responsible organization

Gathering projects that aim to promote responsible human management and to broaden the scope of the beneficiaries of tourism activity. These include exemplary management of human resources and skills, strong social equality and justice, awareness-raising among employees for sustainable development, important solidarity actions, financial support campaigns for charitable associations.

Responsible management of tourism flows

The initiatives that promote a harmonious distribution of visitors in time and space. It is here to reward the actors who, for example, fight against mass tourism or develop off-season offers.

Mastery of energy

Includes any project intended to limit energy consumption and its impact on nature. For example, projects for thermal renovation of infrastructure, approaches to energy sobriety and optimization of energy uses or the acquisition of renewable energy.

Local anchorage

Includes initiatives aimed at the development of ethical tourism and valued the local. They aim to restore balance and contact between passengers and premises. At stake are all actions in favour of the involvement of the inhabitants in the tourist offer, the valorization of local crafts and local shops, the illumination of civic actions.

Nearby tourism (category of year)

Gather projects that support the deployment of a local tourism. In other words, a tourism that leads travellers to discover destinations closer to and less frequented. This trend, largely favoured by restrictions during the health crisis, is aimed at (re)valued French territory.

Sustainable development

Relevant to initiatives aimed at developing a responsible supply of food. This means the use of local and seasonal products, the reception of vegetarian or vegan people, the fight against food waste and awareness campaigns about responsible food.

Tourism for all

Concerns about actions to promote access to tourism for all: persons with disabilities, disadvantaged families who can hardly go on vacation, single women who travel insecurity, etc.

Circular economy and waste management

Gather projects that work towards the development and maintenance of a circular economy, revalued or limited waste. For example, all zero waste, recycling, reuse of used resources and equipment, eco-design of services or products.

Young shoot

Concerns about sustainable tourism initiatives supported and encouraged by a structure to become.

An initiative supported by Wanderlix

France (which can pride itself on being the first tourism country in the world), as well as its travel professionals, can only take into account the negative impacts of tourism. Thus, Wanderlix places particular emphasis on the radiation of sustainable travel.

We have created a dedicated section on the subject. The latter, called "travel differently", addresses all subjects that, near or far, concern responsible tourism. As a tourism media that listens to the sector, we know that tourism practices that are more respectful of living, humans and the environment are (and must be) the future.

Travel, tourism activities and the creation of hospitality infrastructure for travellers are not without repercussions. Particularly strong consequences when it is known that almost 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the transport of tourists and business travelers. In addition to transport, the benefits also sometimes have a dramatic impact on the ecosystems of a destination.

For us, travelling differently concerns each stage of a trip, on the side of travellers as professionals. All links in the tourist chain have a role to play. These are perfectly represented by the twelve categories awarded to the Horizon Trophies.

The coherence between the values of the ATD network, through the Horizons Trophies, and Wanderlix, through its "Travel differently" section, is obvious. We will be, as a media partner of the event, present at the awards of the Horizon Trophies in June 2022.