Winners have been announced for the Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award!

The competition highlights the contribution of indigenous operators to biological and cultural diversity, and comprised applicants from ten countries around the world (Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mexico, Micronesia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sweden). More than 400 people cast their vote, carefully examining all 14 websites that fit the ambitious criteria set on Planeta.com's wiki site http://planeta.wikispaces.com/itbw. Additionally, a jury composed of six internationally recognized experts in indigenous and sustainable tourism picked their choice using the same criteria.

The winner of the judged 2010 ITBW Award is Nutti Sami Siida, which features reindeer sled trips. Owners Nils Torbjörn Nutti and Carina Pingi are Sami from Saarivuoma and Gabna Sameby, Sweden. The winner of the popular count 2010 ITBW Award is TIME Unlimited Tours from New Zealand, operated by the Maori-European couple Ceillhe Tewhare Teneti Hema Sperath and Néill Sperath, and providing personalised and interactive Auckland and Maori Indigenous Cultural Tours.

The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is a collaborative effort between Planeta.com and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/UNEP (CBD) with the generous support of the Heidehof Foundation.

The award is aimed at private tourism services, owned and operated by indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles, and its main objectives are to motivate candidates to improve their online communication on biological and cultural diversity, to highlight their best practices in managing tourism and to raise operators and public’s awareness on biodiversity.The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is a collaborative effort between Planeta.com and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/UNEP (CBD) with the generous support of the Heidehof Foundation.

The award is aimed at private tourism services, owned and operated by indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles, and its main objectives are to motivate candidates to improve their online communication on biological and cultural diversity, to highlight their best practices in managing tourism and to raise operators and public’s awareness on biodiversity.