Conditions of Participation

Conditions of Participation as PDF-File here

1    Background

On the long run, the future of tourism will also depend on its sustainability for the people living in the world’s tourist destinations. Against this background, the Institute for Tourism and Development (Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V.) has announced the 30th international TO DO Award for socially responsible tourism.
The TO DO is awarded for projects, measures or products which are characterised by the active participation of the local population and fairness in the way the projects interact with all the stakeholders involved in the development of tourism. The applicants may be tourism businesses and organisations, public institutions or other legal entities.


2    Contest criteria

The main criterion that qualifies for a TO DO Award is the active participation of local people in the planning phase and during the implementation of the project/measure/product. Participation includes both the involvement of local people with their various needs and interests when taking fundamental decisions, as well as economic benefit-sharing.
In addition, the following criteria will be applied:

  • Strengthening local people’s awareness of the opportunities and risks of tourism development for their daily economic, social, and cultural lives.
  • Self-determined participation of broad local population strata in the positive social and cultural impacts of tourism, minimising and/or preventing undesirable tourism-related social and cultural impacts or damages.
  • Creating income opportunities in tourism for local people and improving the working conditions to make them decent in terms of remuneration, social security, working hours, and training.
  • Promoting intercultural encounters and exchange between hosts and guests.
  • Taking environmental and climate-related sustainability criteria and the sustainable use of natural resources into account.


3    Contest organiser and cooperation partners

The contest is organised by the Institute for Tourism and Development (Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V.), Seefeld, Germany.
Cooperation partners:

  • Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Berlin
  • Bread for the World-Tourism Watch, Berlin
  • Forum anders reisen, Hamburg
  • ITB Berlin
  • Swiss Foundation for Solidarity in Tourism (SST), Basel
  •  Studiosus Reisen München GmbH


4    Deadline for application and language

The TO DO Award application must be submitted by 31st July, 2024, including the signed application and the answers to the questions in the application form.
Please send your complete application
by e-mail to: todo-award@studienkreis.org
or
by post to: Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V., TO DO Award 2025 Bahnhofstraße 8, 82229 Seefeld, Germany.
For applications and documents to be considered, they must be in English or German language.
Applications and enclosures will remain with the contest organiser.


5    Jury and verification on location

After the closing date, a qualified selection of applications will be presented to an expert jury. The jury will nominate those projects/measures/products that will be checked on location.
The person in charge of a project which is to be checked on location guarantees the organiser the right to have the project/measure/product checked by an expert and will support him/her to the best of his/her abilities. Apart from access to all relevant information, this also includes accommodation and local transport for the expert.
During the five to eight days stay of the expert, the person responsible for the project/measure/product must be present and available for discussions and to provide information.


6    Prize and award ceremony

Once the award rationales have been prepared by the experts, the award winners will be informed by the organiser (by 15th January 2025) and will be invited for the award ceremony at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin. At the same time, applicants who did not qualify for a TODO Award 2025 will also be notified.
The prizes related to the TO DO Award are in recognition of the objectives and success of the project/measure/product at the time the awarded is given.
The public award ceremony will take place at ITB Berlin in March 2025.

  • The prizes to be given there include a TO DO 2025 trophy and a certificate.
  • The Swiss Foundation for Solidarity in Tourism (SST) will give 5,000 Swiss Francs prize money to each award winner.

The person in charge of the project/measure/product authorizes Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung to present it in the context of the contest and subsequent activities, including on the TO DO Award website of Studienkreis. The applicant holds the organiser harmless against any claims by third parties. In the absence of prize-worthy entries, no award will be given.


7    Legal recourse

In applying, the entrant accepts the conditions of participation. Legal recourse is excluded.