EUROPARC Star Awards 2019

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Welcome to the EUROPARC Sustainable Tourism Partners’ Award.

Tourism is one of the main economic drivers of Europe’s rural areas. EUROPARC has long recognised the need to ensure we have a thriving, living, working landscapes that support nature and people. Tourism, therefore, has to be developed and managed along with sustainable principles, if we are to ensure a positive future. Parks and Protected Areas are at the core of the natural and cultural assets of an area and are often the main reason for visiting.

However to be a Sustainable Destination, depends on businesses, community, and municipalities all working to that common purpose.

In these STAR Awards, EUROPARC seeks to celebrate, champion and acknowledge the effort and investments made by tourism businesses to be more sustainable and help care and protect their natural and cultural heritage.

To be less impactful on the environment in which the businesses reside, to work alongside the park, and to play a supporting role in the community are all the excellent actions of “Charter Partners”.

EUROPARC, therefore, invites all current Charter Partners and Tour Operators to apply for the awards in order to highlight the sustainable action being done which are Good for Nature, Good for People and Good for Business.

>>>> Download the Guidelines for Candidates <<<<

English – Guidelines for candidates

Spanish_- Instrucciones para los candidatos

Italian – Linee guida per i candidati_2019

French – Directives destinées aux candidats

Eligibility

The Star Awards is open to all Sustainable Business Partners or Tour Operators who have a current validated partnership (under Charter Part II or Charter Part III) with a park or protected area, itself currently awarded by EUROPARC. If you are unsure of your eligibility please contact your Park for further information.

Categories

We really want to learn of your experiences and share your stories, so we have endeavoured to ask questions in different areas in which you may contribute to the Sustainable Destination. We have tried to make the questions as intuitive as possible to answer. There are 3 categories you can choose from:

Apart from the 3 voluntary categories, there is one compulsory category- Contribution to Conservation, which each applicant must complete. Contribution to Conservation will appear at the beginning of each category. You need only fill in the questions once, if you choose to apply for multiple categories.

As this is a fundamental of the Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected areas, we are asking you to tell us about your direct actions or contributions for habitats and species of your protected area.

The Application Process

We invite you to apply in as many categories as you like. Using the only form in either French, Italian. Spanish or English.  The deadline for entries is 21st June.

APPLY in ENGLISH (French, Spanish and Italian Versions are also available)

Building My Community

Reducing the Impacts on the Environment

Communicating the Values of my Park and my Business 

These will be assessed by an in-country jury and a representative from EUROPARC. The best from each country, in each category, will be adjudicated by an international jury who will select the overall winner in each category.

These will be announced at the EUROPARC Charter Award Ceremony 2019. A local handover ceremony can be arranged for each winner, but winners will be invited to attend the award ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels, in late November/early December 2019.  (Date to be confirmed)

The winner in each category will go to a public vote, where the overall winner will receive, along with a representative from the park or Protected Area with which they are a partner, a free place at the EUROPARC Conference 2020.

For more information please contact: sustainable.tourism @ europarc.org.

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