NEW YORK, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelport Ltd., the parent company of the Travelport group of companies today announced that it will co-sponsor The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards (http://www.tourismfortomorrow.com). The awards, under the stewardship of the WTTC, are presented annually and are aimed at recognizing best practices in responsible and sustainable tourism demonstrated by organizations and companies within the global Travel & Tourism industry.
The winners and finalists will be honored at a special recognition ceremony at the WTTC 2009 Global Travel & Tourism Summit. Travelport CEO and President, Jeff Clarke will be in attendance to honor and address the winners and finalists in the award categories, which include Destination Stewardship, Conservation, Community Benefit, and the Global Tourism Business Award focusing exclusively on sustainable tourism at the larger corporate level to further demonstrate that best practices can encompass businesses of any scale.
"Travelport is committed to engendering and promoting sustainable travel. We foster a culture of responsible and environmentally-conscious practices, develop tools for offsetting and measuring carbon emissions and continue to participate in organizations and initiatives that implement these services and impart this universal message. I am honored to play a role in recognizing the recipients and finalists of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards and to underscore the impactful contributions of these role models as well as the WTTC," said Jeff Clarke, Travelport CEO and president.
"We are delighted that our strategic partner, Travelport, will once again co-sponsor this very important awards event. As an organization dedicated to environmental awareness and facilitating mass travel globally, it leads by example and contributes to the shared vision of sustainability in Travel and Tourism," added Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President, WTTC.
An independent panel of judges, including some of the world's most authoritative experts of sustainable development and a stringent application process involving on-site verification visits by these experts, has earned the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards growing levels of respect among the travel industry, governments and the international media.
About Travelport
Travelport is one of the world's largest travel conglomerates offering broad based business services to companies operating in the global travel industry. The company is comprised of Travelport GDS, a global distribution system business that includes the Worldspan and Galileo brands; GTA, a group travel and wholesale hotel business; Business Intelligence by Travelport, a data analysis business; and IT Services and Software, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business solutions for major airlines.
Travelport also owns approximately 48% of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), a leading global online travel company. With 2007 revenues of $2.6 billion, Travelport operates in 145 countries and has approximately 5,500 employees.
Travelport is a private company owned by The Blackstone Group, One Equity Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures and Travelport management.
About the WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world's leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 238 million people and generating nearly 10% of world GDP.
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