Winning initiatives of the FiturNext 2023 challenge
Plogging Tour, Iberostar Group and Green Pepper Travel are the winning projects of this edition in the categories: regeneration of the terrestrial and aquatic environment and the management and promotion of environmental regeneration, respectively.
Regenerating and conserving the natural environment: the focus of the winning initiatives
The three winning initiatives have in common their contribution to a more conscious and responsible way of travelling that helps to regenerate the natural environment of the destination visited, with the participation of the local community.
Specifically, Plogging Tour is a foundation that combines sports tourism with waste collection for environmental conservation. The initiative has been awarded in the category of land regeneration, for its positive impact on the territory and its level of replicability in many countries. With more than 30,800kgs of waste collected, this tourism activity allows visitors to leave the place that welcomes them better than it was and to promote the circular economy.
Meanwhile, the Iberostar Group presented, as part of its pioneer movement Wave for Change, a roadmap for coastal health, which won it the award in the aquatic environment regeneration category. This initiative promotes a model of responsible tourism focused on the conservation of coral, marine species and coastal ecosystems to make them resilient to climate change. Both hotel staff and guests are involved in these actions, and among the most popular activities is the visit to the Coral Lab.
Finally, the Green Pepper Travel travel agency, winner in the category of management and promotion of the regeneration of the natural environment, seeks to give travellers the opportunity to choose more conscious trips with services focused on the local community and the regeneration of the territory. They design community-based tourism trips in Latin America, including a reforestation project in Chiapas that brings visitors into contact with local agents, planting native tree species and involving the indigenous community.