Ecotourism Australia certified business wins Sustainable Tourism Award

Ecotourism Australia certified business, Passions of Paradise has won the Sustainable Tourism Award at the 2023 Banksia Foundation Sustainability Awards, recognising their positive impact not only in the tourism sector, but in wider environmental protection initiatives.

Passions of Paradise was acknowledged for their response to the challenge of determining the amount of water pollutants and their sources flowing into the Great Barrier Reef through the stakeholder-driven “Project 25”. The program piloted a ‘bottom-up’ water quality research mechanism providing farmers with stronger and more tangible feedback loops between water quality science and management in Cairns.

Overall, five organisations certified by Ecotourism Australia for achieving global best practice sustainability standards were finalists in the 34th Banksia Foundation Sustainability Awards for sustainability excellence.

Passions of Paradise, Busselton Jetty Inc, Fun Over 50 Holidays were finalists in the Sustainable Tourism category; Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort in the Biodiversity category; and Central Coast Council finalists in the Marketing and Communication for Impact category.

The prestigious event is Australia’s longest running sustainability awards.

Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Elissa Keenan, congratulated the winner and shared “we are delighted, but not surprised, to have one of our ECO certified operators win a Banksia Award again this year and to have five named as finalists.

“For Passions of Paradise, to win the Sustainable Tourism Award is a significant recognition of their outstanding commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism. We are proud of their achievement and to see them recognised in these prestigious awards.”

The Banksia Awards are recognised for recognising sustainability success stories and the leaders, changemakers and innovators who make a positive impact on the world.

See the full list of finalists and winners

Image: Passions of Paradise