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12 Judges for the 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards run by the World Travel & Tourism Council have been unveiled. The organisation also seeks entries to be recognise best practice in sustainable tourism. The deadline for applications is 2nd December.

The judging process includes a thorough review of each application followed by an on-site evaluation of all finalists conducted by a global panel of experts in sustainable tourism.

The panel will review and select a shortlist of finalists in each of the four award categories to progress to the second stage of the judging process, during which on-site inspections will take place. Following the third stage of judging, a final panel will choose the winner for each category.

The judges on the Finalist Selection Committee for 2010 are:

• Tony Charters, principal, Tony Charters & Associates, Australia

• Jena Gardner, president, JG Blackbook of Travel, and President, The Bodhi Tree Foundation, USA

• Erika Harms, executive director for sustainable development, United Nations Foundation – World Heritage Alliance, USA/Costa Rica

• Marilú Hernández, president, Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya, Mexico

• Dr Janne J Liburd, associate professor and director of research, Centre for Tourism, Culture and Innovation, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

• Mahen Sanghrajka, chairman, Big Five Tours & Expeditions, USA/Kenya

• Kaddu Kiwe Sebunya, chief of party, Uganda Sustainable Tourism Program, Uganda

• Mandip Singh Soin FRGS, founder & managing Director, Ibex Expeditions (P) Ltd, India

• Shannon Stowell, president, Adventure Travel Trade Association, USA

• Jamie Sweeting, vice president, environmental stewardship and global chief environmental officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises, USA

• Albert Teo, managing director, Borneo Eco Tours, Malaysia

• Mei Zhang, founder, Wildchina, China

Members of the winners’ selection committee are:

• Costas Christ, chairman of the judges, Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, USA

• Graham Boynton, group travel editor, Telegraph Media Group, UK

• Fiona Jeffery, chairman, World Travel Market & Just A Drop, UK

• Michael Singh, CEO, ministry of tourism and civil aviation, Belize

Christ said: “There is no doubt that what we are witnessing today may be the most significant transformation in the history of modern travel – the emergence of sustainable tourism principles and practices across the full spectrum of travel and tourism from small and medium-sized businesses to large-scale hospitality and travel corporations.”

He added: “At the heart of the awards is an expert judging panel representing countries from all around the world and an on-site evaluation process of award finalists to document their sustainable tourism practices in action.”