UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism
What are the UNWTO Awards and Ulysses Prize?
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the UNWTO Knowledge Network confer the UNWTO Ulysses Prize and Awards annually to highlight and showcase Innovation and Application of Knowledge in Tourism.
In doing so, they seek to recognize and stimulate knowledge creation, dissemination and innovative applications in tourism and to bring to light the latest advances in this area.This has a transversal effect on governance and society at large.
In addition to the Ulysses Prize and Awards, in 2012 a new award category has been announced; the UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated excellence throughout their career in tourism and who serves as an inspirational role model.
Recognition is given in the following categories:
The UNWTO Ulysses Prize is given to a distinguished scholar, whether in academia, government or private industry, for outstanding contributions to innovation and knowledge in tourism.
The UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement is conferred to recognize a lifetime achievement of individuals with visionary leadership and significant contribution throughout the nominee’s career as an inspirational role model for the development at the local, national, regional or international level.
The UNWTO Ulysses Awards for Innovation merit distinction in four categories for the significant contribution of innovative tourism initiatives which are both competitive and sustainable in their character.
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Enterprises
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations
- UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Research and Technology
The UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism is a worldwide event highlighting knowledge innovation and its application in all five UNWTO regions (the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East).
Milestones
1. 2003: First edition of the UNWTO Ulysses Prize. Doctor Donald Hawkins, from the George Washington University (USA) was the first recipient of the UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge.
2. 2006: Two new award categories open up for specific tourism initiatives. The first award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance was granted to Black Stone Valley (USA) while the first award for Innovation in Enterprise was awarded to ACCOR (France).
3. 2007: The award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations is created to complement the two abovementioned award categories. It was granted to the Évora Tourism Region (Portugal).
4. 2011: The 2011 Awards Ceremony took place in the framework of the UNWTO Algarve Forum (Portugal); The Forum – intended to bridge theory and practice in tourism as an instrument for development and good governance – convened over 300 representatives from the private and public sector who were joined by prestigious academics to conclude several months of on-line discussion and establish a consensus on future tourism strategies.
5. 2012: The UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement and the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Research and Technology are created. The first edition of the UNWTO Lifetime Achievement Award honored two eminent individuals from both public and private sectors - Mr. Shao Qiwei, Chairman of China National Tourism Administration and Mr. Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, Chairman and Founder of Melià Hotels International. The first winner of the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Research and Technology was the Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia (Spain). Upon the creation of these two categories, the previous UNWTO Ulysses Prize and Awards were rebranded UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism with different categories.
How to participate?
Please be advised that the call for nominations for the 2013 UNWTO Awards will be open soon. We will shortly release all the relevant documents to apply for this 2013 edition of the Awards.
To see the complete list of the 2012 edition awardees, please visit the following link.
