Planeta.com - Votes for the 2009 Ecotourism Spotlight Award have been counted and the winner is Ecotourism Laos!

Other nominees for this year's award included Quito Visitors' Bureau, Responsible Tourism Guide to the Mekong and Failte Ireland. The winner is announced in celebration of World Tourism Day (September 27) as way of spotlighting best practice in responsible travel and ecotourism.

It takes some time for awards to be recognized among likely candidates and the interested public. Competition was strongest this year as many government sites have spent considerable time and resources improving their coverage of ecotourism.
Best practices include Failte Ireland's Ecotourism Handbook distribution to all 16,000 Irish tourism businesses and Quito's documentation of eco activities include eco bike rides. Web 2.0 is showcased on the Mekong guide. Ecotourism Laos has been revising its site and shows how any good website must be regularly updated to maintain its effectiveness.