Adventure Tourism Awards
Categories for adventure tour operators, trekking, safari and water sports companies, ground handlers and outdoor destinations.
How the International Travel Awards Recognise Adventure Tourism
Adventure travel asks more of a business than most kinds of tourism. Guests walk, ride, paddle, dive or climb in places where conditions change and help may be some distance away, and the trip has to feel exciting while being carefully managed. The International Travel Awards recognise the operators, ground handlers and destinations that do this well.
There is no single adventure category. Instead, each adventure business enters the category built for its role: operators that design and run trips enter Best Tour Operator, ground handlers enter Best DMC, destinations enter Best Tourism Board, and businesses with measured environmental or community work can add the Sustainable Travel Award. Entries are reviewed against the criteria for their own category, so the strongest ones show how the business manages safety, supports its guides, cares for the places it visits and looks after its guests. For a step-by-step approach, read the guide to adventure tourism award nominations.
Adventure Tourism Award Categories
The categories below suit most adventure and outdoor travel businesses. Lodges, camps and resorts built around outdoor activities can enter the hotel or resort category that fits the property, and founders can consider Travel Leader of the Year or Young Travel Entrepreneur. The full list is on the award categories page.
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Best Tour Operator
For trekking, safari, cycling, diving, water sports and multi-activity operators that design and run trips. Entries show itinerary design, guiding, safety management, supplier care and the guest experience from booking to the end of the trip.
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Best DMC (Destination Management Company)
For ground handlers that deliver adventure programmes in one destination for agencies, groups and incentive clients: permits, transport, local guides, logistics and on-the-ground problem-solving.
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Best Tourism Board
For destinations and tourism organisations developing and promoting outdoor and active travel, including how trails, parks, water and wildlife experiences are managed and shared with visitors.
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Sustainable Travel Award
For adventure businesses with measured environmental and community actions: group-size limits, low-impact practices, conservation support, local hiring and spending that stays in the region.
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Travel Innovation Award
For a new adventure product, safety tool, booking approach or way of operating with a clear, explainable effect on guests, guides or the places visited.
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Travel Startup of the Year
For newer adventure travel companies with a clear idea, early growth and the foundations of a well-run, safety-conscious business.
Nominate Free NowWhat a Strong Adventure Tourism Entry Shows
Safety Management in Practice
How activities and routes are risk-assessed, how equipment is checked, how weather and conditions are monitored, who can change or stop an activity, and how incidents are recorded and used to improve training.
Guides and Local Teams
How guides are recruited, trained and refreshed, guide-to-guest ratios for each activity, fair working conditions for porters, drivers and field staff, and how local knowledge shapes each trip.
Care for Places and Communities
Group-size limits, low-impact practices on trails, rivers and reefs, wildlife viewing guidelines, waste handling in remote areas, and how much of each trip's spending stays with local suppliers and guides.
The Guest Experience
How guests are prepared before departure, what a typical day looks like, how the team responds when plans change, and what guests say afterwards, using feedback and figures the business genuinely tracks.
Recognition You Can Reference
Winners can use the winner title with the Winner Package, which activates the title and grants the right to use the award name in proposals, trip pages and communications with travellers and trade partners.
Recognition for the Team
Award recognition is a way to acknowledge the guides and field teams who lead every trip, and a clear outside reference point for travellers who research carefully before booking an active holiday.
How to Enter the Adventure Tourism Awards
Choose Your Category
Match your business to its role: tour operator, DMC, destination, accommodation, or a sustainability, innovation or startup story. The award categories page lists every option.
Gather Your Evidence
Collect safety procedures, guide training records, guest feedback, environmental measures and examples of changed plans. Include only figures you can verify and photos you own.
Submit Your Nomination
Use the nomination page and choose a plan from the nomination price page. The how to nominate guide explains each step.
Evaluation and Results
Nominations are evaluated by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree against the criteria for each category. The judging process page explains how evaluation works.
Adventure Tourism Awards: Frequently Asked Questions
Nominate Your Adventure Travel Business for International Recognition
Whether you run trekking, safari, water sports or multi-activity trips, deliver adventure programmes on the ground or promote an outdoor destination, put your business forward in the category that fits it best.