WASHINGTON -- Smithsonian Magazine and the Travelers Conservation
Foundation (TCF) narrowed the candidates down to three finalists
for the third annual Smithsonian Magazine/TCF Sustainable Tourism
Award.
This year, two awards of $20,000 each will be presented, one for
preservation and one for conservation.
The awards are given to "a person, company or institution that
supports preservation or restoration of historical or culturally
significant entities."
The selections were made by a board of judges from the fields of
publishing, tourism and science.
Candidates for the preservation award are: Fort Delaware State
Park in Pea Patch Island, Del., a Civil War prison camp and
architectural landmark being restored by the Delaware Division of
Parks and Recreation; Oklahoma Historical Black Town Tours of
Muskogee, Okla., an operator of tours to post-Civil War settlements
of freed slaves; and Joseph E. and Patricia Anne Salvatore of Cape
May, N.J., who are revitalizing two historic sites in and around
Cape May.
The three finalists in the conservation category are: The
Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Brazil, a conservation
project in the Brazilian forest; Ngomongo Villages in Kenya, an
eco-tourism theme park; and Zululand Birding Route in South Africa,
a project for protecting birds and their habitats through
tourism-related jobs in rural communities.
Readers of Smithsonian Magazine, as well as other interested Web
surfers, can learn more about the candidates and vote for their
choices at www.sustainabletourismawards.com. The voting
deadline is Oct. 31.
Winners will be announced at the U.S. Tour Operators Association
Annual Conference and Marketplace, scheduled for Dec. 9 to 11 at
the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.
To contact reporter David Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected].