2015 Judges
David Owen, Tourism Practioner & Sustainablity
Consultant
David Owen is an international sustainable tourism
practitioner, sustainability consultant and heritage manager. David
has spent much of his life outside Ireland and his career has taken
him around the world. Since returning to base himself in Ireland in
2001, he has continued to develop his expertise and is currently
focused on conservation financing and impact investing.
David's past experiences include working with the United
Nations Environment Programme, where he was responsible for
coordinating the UNEP work programme on sustainability and tourism,
and launching the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism.
Whilst working with An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, he
was deeply involved in An Taisce's pivotal role in establishing the
International National Trusts Organisation. David is now a
sustainable tourism advisor to many affiliated countries and
organisations. He has advised on a number of projects including
World Heritage Sites around the world. He also managed the Tourism
Research Centre in Dublin Institute of Technology and is currently
advising a number of Central European and Middle Eastern
governments on responsible tourism development
strategies.
Catherine Mack, Travel Writer,
responsibletravel.com
Catherine Mack is a travel writer specialising in responsible
tourism. With a Masters degree in Responsible Tourism Management,
she was the Ethical Traveller columnist for The Irish Times for
four years. Irish, but based in London, she has also written for
leading UK national newspapers and magazines including The
Guardian, The Observer, The Financial Times, The Independent, The
Daily Telegraph, Coast Magazine and National Geographic Traveller
Magazine.
Catherine is the author of Ecoescape:Ireland (Green Guide, 2008)
and has published a travel app called Ireland Green Travel.
She is currently full time writer for www.responsibletravel.com, where
her work has included responsible tourism guides to New York State
and Colorado. As well as writing for consumers, Catherine has
written for the travel trade, such as her regular sustainable
tourism blog and content for the World Travel and Tourism Council,
the Ecotourism Handbook for Fáilte Ireland as well as a recent
collection of writing on all the EDEN award winning regions of
Ireland, also for Fáilte Ireland. Catherine touches base regularly
with responsible tourism developments back home by participating in
workshops with grassroots businesses and regional networks, in
partnership with Ecotourism Ireland.
Peter Krahenbuhl, Sustainable Travel Consulting, Travpal
app, former judge for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards & founder
of Sustainable Travel International
Peter D. Krahenbuhl is a sustainability, business development
and communications leader with years of experience in travel,
tourism and related industries. As Co-founder and former President
of Sustainable Travel International (STI), he helped develop and
grow a start-up organisation into a global industry leader with
outreach in the millions. He has implemented and continues to
advise regarding best practices solutions for small to Fortune 500
Companies, destinations and governments.
Peter developed several multi-industry firsts as one of the
world's leading experts in eco-standards and carbon management
solutions. He also specialises in strategic planning,
organisational management, business and programme development;
Stakeholder engagement and network leadership; CSR and public /
industry relations, including integrating sustainability into
branding, packaging and marketing. Peter has led or advised
multiple global sustainability councils and executive level
business networks. At the destination level, he has assessed or
helped develop regional standards, national sustainable tourism
policy and planning activities, and education and training
programs.
Prior to that Peter worked in the eco-adventure tour operators
in all aspects of operations, sales, business and product
development. His leadership experience extends to working on
international community development and conservation projects,
being a published author related to sustainability topics and
travel, and as a recognized industry and public speaker. Peter
currently lives in Westport, County Mayo.
Dr Kevin Griffin, Tourism Lecturer DIT, former EDEN
Awards judge
Kevin Griffin BEd. MA PhD is a lecturer and former Head of
Tourism at the Dublin Institute of Technology. His academic and
teaching interests are quite eclectic and his key activity spans
sustainable tourism, cultural tourism, heritage interpretation,
local history and education. He has written, presented and edited a
range of work on various topics in the sphere of tourism, events
and local studies, being keen to undertaken research of both an
applied and a theoretical nature.
He is Chair of the International Religious Tourism and
Pilgrimage Group which he has led through the production of
numerous reviewed publications in recent years. In 2013, with Dr.
Razaq Raj, he established the International Journal of Religious
Tourism and Pilgrimage, and is a book series Editor in this area
with CABI.
Kevin actively participates in a number of international tourism
networks including the European Tourism Futures Institute and the
UNESCO / UNITWIN Culture Tourism and Development Network. He is
currently working on a three year, fifteen partner, one million
euro EU funded Tempus IV project entitled NETOUR which aims to
support the development of third level tourism education in
Russia.
Finally, Kevin has developed an international profile in the
area of sustainable tourism, and the DIT-ACHIEV Model for
Sustainable Tourism Planning which he developed with his colleague
Dr. Sheila Flanagan, is recognised internationally as an exemplar
of Best Practice in the area using indicators for sustainable
tourism planning.
Catherine Fulvio, TV chef & Ballyknocken House &
Cookery School, Co. Wicklow
Catherine Fulvio, TV chef, author and owner of the award-winning
Ballyknocken House & Cookery School www.ballyknocken.com in Co.
Wicklow is a wonderful ambassador for Ireland and an ardent
supporter of fresh and local produce. Catherine has helped
towards the culinary revolution Ireland is currently enjoying
today. She works closely with Bord Bia on promoting the
important and growing agri-food sector, showcasing quality Irish
produce both at home and abroad. She also works with Tourism
Ireland encouraging visitors to come and visit Ireland for a real
Irish experience so much of which is about the food.
She has worked with many organisations such as Stop Food Waste
and was Ambassador for the EU Farm to Fork initiative in 2013. In
2013 she received Entrepreneur of the Year for the region of Europe
and Africa, sponsored by ActionCOACH at the Business Excellence
Forum. The award recognised Ballyknocken House, Farm and
Cookery School in County Wicklow as an idyllic destination for
international and domestic visitors alike.
Born and raised on a working family farm it is no great surprise
that her food philosophy is "field to fork" and Catherine puts huge
emphasis on provenance using the best of local and seasonal produce
in her Guesthouse and Cookery School often using Ballyknocken's own
herbs, vegetables and fruit. She designs her menus and
cookery courses with seasonality in mind and believes in
sustainable business practices and is an advocate for food tourism
as an important part of the visitor experience and is constantly
looking at ways to enhance the tourist food experience in
Ireland.
Catherine's success reaches far flung shores with TV appearances
including NBCs Today Show in the US and BBC Saturday Kitchen in the
UK. Her TV series have been aired in over a dozen countries
and this St Patrick's Day Catherine will make her fourth appearance
on NBC's Today Show where she will share some of her legendary St
Patrick's Day recipes on one of the leading morning shows in the US
to an audience of up to several million viewers expected for St.
Patricks Day. "This is a fantastic opportunity to promote
Irish Food and Ireland as a destination"says Catherine.
For more information visit www.catherinefulvio.com or you can
follow Catherine twitter (@cfulvio, Facebook (Catherine Fulvio). www.ballyknocken.com
David Owen, formerly of UNEP Tourism Programme and DIT
Tourism Research Centre
On the way
Ruth Morgan, Environment & Policy Officer, Tourism
Northern Ireland
Ruth joined Tourism Northern Ireland in April 2009, having
previously worked as an urban planner within the local government
sector in England. Ruth represents Tourism NI in relation to
environmental, planning and development matters including driving
the sustainable tourism agenda in Northern Ireland. Her pocket
guide to sustainable tourism 'Going Green' was published in
February 2014.
Annabel Fitzgerald, Coastal Programmes Manager, An
Taisce
Annabel FitzGerald is the Coastal Programmes Manager in the
Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is responsible for
the management of the Blue Flag, Green Coast Award and Clean Coasts
programmes in Ireland. Annabel is a member of the international
Blue Flag working group developing the Blue Flag criteria for
Eco-tourism Boats. She is also working closely with partners on the
delivery of the Green Coast Award internationally. Clean Coasts is
about engaging communities in the protection of our beaches, seas
and marine life.
Every year Clean Coasts organises hundreds of cleanups and
surveys mobilising thousands of volunteers to remove considerable
quantities of marine litter from our environment. Annabel has
developed a suite of community engagement initiatives that has led
to the expansion of the Clean Coasts programme, including; Clean
Waves, Clean Coasts Week, the Big Beach Clean weekend, Love Your
Coast Photography Competition, Clean Coasts Ocean Hero Awards,
Clean Coasts Road Show, #2MinuteStreetClean, the Clean Coasts
Corporate Volunteering Programme and the Clean Coasts Ambassador
Programme. Clean Coasts has also joined international campaigns
such as Beat the Microbead and #2MinuteBeachClean. www.cleancoasts.org
@BellesFitz
Paddy Mathews, Head of Investment & Innovation,
Failte Ireland
Paddy Mathews is Head of Investment and Innovation at Fáilte
Ireland, with a lead responsibility for sustainability issues. He
was part of the Wild Atlantic Way project team and established the
Environment Unit within Fáilte Ireland. Paddy is a town planner and
conservation specialist and held the post of Planning Officer with
the Heritage Council from 1995 to 2003. He also worked for several
years in consultancy with John Cronin & Associates. For more
information please visit www.failteireland.ie
Dr Harold Goodwin, Director The Responsible Tourism
Partnership & Chair of the World Responsible Tourism
Awards
Harold is Professor of Responsible Tourism at Manchester
Metropolitan University where he runs an MSc in Responsible
Tourism. Harold has been at the forefront of Responsible Tourism
since the late nineties, in 2002 he co-chaired the 1st
International Conference in Responsible Tourism in Destinations and
drafted the Cape Town Declaration which included the definition:
using tourism to make better places for people to live in and for
people to visit. Harold has worked with business and destinations
around the world on how Responsible Tourism benefits businesses and
how to maximise the positive impacts and minimise negative impacts.
Harold is Chair of the World Responsible Tourism Awards judging
panel. For more information please visit www.haroldgoodwin.info
Judging Process
Longlisting: Companies that made
submissions were reviewed, by members of ICRT, who will carried out
preliminary desk-top research into the policies and practices of
those nominated and selected a 10 -15
'longlist' of finalists per category. Businesses eligible for an
award must be transparent about about
these on their websites. We were looking for those that go
above and beyond the basics of responsible tourism, and who might
be eligible or an award. This is not a certification scheme - we
look for examples of business practice which inspire
replication.
Questionnaire: Those on the
longlist received a more detailed questionnaire about broader
aspects of responsible tourism which were evaluated
by the jury in order to select winners for each category. This
questionnaire required detailed information, quantifiable data and
evidence of their acheivements in responsible tourism and was
demanding to complete. The focus of the questionnaire is on
demonstrating evidence of positive change, and each awards category
has a specifically designed questionnaire designed by industry
& acedemic experts in responsible tourism.
Finalists: The 2015 Irish
Responsible Tourism Awards list of Finalists was released in the
first week of March 2015.
Final Decision: The jury panel met
before the Responsible Tourism in Destinations conference
presenting their recommendations and made their case for them to
the other judges. These were debated and decisions made.
There was full disclosure of vested interests from the outset
and the Chair of the judges may, if judges have a relationship with
one of those nominated, request they do not vote or participate in
the debate. This will be managed on a case by case basis. The
decision of judges will be final.
This format mirrors the World Responsible Tourism
Awards judging process and makes the Irish Responsible Tourism
Awards the most rigourous awards possible.
