All Geotourism Challenge Finalists Will Attend The Educational Travel Conference

All of the finalists of the Changemakers/National Geographic 2009 Geotourism Challenge will be hosted for free at the 24th Annual Educational Travel Conference (ETC) on February 3-6, 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island. The three winners of the Changemakers/National Geographic 2009 Geotourism Challenge will join the ETC Showcase Winners to make a special presentation.

The ETC Conference brings together more than 1,000 professionals at the only conference of its kind dedicated to the advancement and education of nonprofit alumni, museum, zoo, conservation, and other nonprofit travel professionals in the business of developing and managing programs for lifelong learning through travel.

The three winners of the Changemakers/National Geographic 2009 Geotourism Challenge are: 

• Nature Air, a "carbon neutral" airline in Costa Rica
• PEPY ("Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself"), a "voluntourism" program in rural Cambodia supporting local education
• Wikiloc Community Maps, a free community-mapping website in Spain

As part of the Educational Travel Community’s dedication to advancing responsible tourism, ETC hosts an annual Responsible Tourism Showcase Award that gives $1,000 to  a project that is working diligently in the field to develop and implement sustainable tourism initiatives. The ETC 2009 Responsible Tourism Showcase honoree is:

• Surama Eco lodge, developed by the community of Surama — a village of 300 Makushi Amerindians at the northern edge of Guyana's Rupununi Savannah — that developed community-based ecotourism as a means of establishing sustainable livelihoods for village residents while preserving Guyana's indigenous cultural traditions and rich rainforest ecosystems.
• Amazon Explorama Lodges is the 2009 runner-up winner. It operates five tourist lodges in the jungle with one lodge, ACTS, designated as a bio-research station that furthers the conservation and study of rainforests by disseminating information and providing educational opportunities through access to tropical rainforests for researchers, students, and visitors.