World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards

What World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards does

World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards is an annual recognition programme that identifies and rewards individuals, organisations, destinations, and initiatives accelerating change in sustainable travel and tourism. Launched in 2023 at COP28 in Dubai, the programme is the sister event of World Travel Awards (established 1993) and is operated by World Luxury Media Group Limited, a UK private company headquartered in London. The annual cycle comprises a defined entry window (30 June – 31 August for the 2026 edition), student-led evaluation by Nova School of Business & Economics, Advisory Board shortlisting, a public and industry voting phase (21 September – 21 October 2026), and a Gala Ceremony that has rotated across Belize (2024), Dubai (2025), and Paris (2026).

The core product spans 30 award categories covering sustainable organisations, destinations, hospitality properties, conservation, climate action, supply chain, partnerships, and individual leadership, supported by add-on monetisation including Digital Nominee/Winner/Commendation Packs, a physical Winner Wall Plaque, tiered Winner Packages (Bronze US$2,500 to Platinum US$7,500), Category Sponsorship at US$10,000, event-programme advertising, and Gala tickets. The platform is essentially a website-driven entry and voting engine — no proprietary AI or software stack is disclosed.

Commercially, WSTHA is a recurring annual event business whose revenue is a mix of small size-based entry fees, higher-margin sponsorship and winner-package sales, and physical merchandise. Its principal strategic asset is a flagship multi-year integration with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, whose membership represents over 66,000 hotels, 8 million rooms, and 300 brands; this partnership is being combined with the Alliance's Summit into a single annual global platform. The company itself is small (11–50 employees across the parent), with Justin Cooke as Executive Vice President, no disclosed external funding, and a sister portfolio of luxury award brands under the same parent entity.

Name

World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards

Legal name

World Luxury Media Group Limited

Website

https://wstha.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards is an annual awards programme operated by World Luxury Media Group Limited that recognises individuals, organisations, destinations, and initiatives advancing sustainable travel and tourism across 30 categories, with revenue generated from entry fees, tiered winner packages, category sponsorship, gala tickets, and digital/physical award assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel & Hospitality Industry Awards

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Eco-Certification, Auditing & Standards (Green Lodging, Tour Operator Certification) (THAAANAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Eco-Tours & Sustainable Nature Travel (THAJAIAD)

Keywords

• Travel industry awards
• Hospitality awards
• Sustainability recognition
• Tourism industry events
• Industry recognition programs

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Entry Fees: Small entry fee based on organisation size; fee includes Digital Nominee Pack for successful nominees
2. Digital Nominee Pack Sales: Price: £299 for nominees to market their nomination
3. Digital Winner Pack Sales: Price: £350 for winners to market their win
4. Winner Wall Plaque Sales: Physical wall plaque for display; Price: £650 includes free delivery
5. Event Tickets: Gala Ceremony tickets sold to non-winners at US$250 per ticket
6. Winner Packages: Bronze (US$2,500), Silver (US$3,995), Gold (US$5,000), Platinum (US$7,500) packages including tickets, trophy presentation, and marketing materials
7. Category Sponsorship: Category sponsorship opportunity at US$10,000
8. Event Programme Advertising: Full page and double page spread advertising in event programme

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards is an annual industry recognition programme that identifies and rewards organizations, destinations, and individuals demonstrating leadership in sustainable travel and hospitality. It operates paid nominee entries, digital and physical winner packages, tiered sponsor benefits, commemorative wall plaques, and category-specific sponsorships. The programme is anchored by international gala ceremonies held across different regions each year (Belize 2024, Atlantis The Palm Dubai 2025, Paris 2026).

Product overview

World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards is a single unified awards programme (sister event to World Travel Awards) that recognises excellence in sustainable travel and tourism through an annual ceremony and voting platform. The core product is the annual awards across 30+ categories covering destinations, organisations, individuals, and specific initiatives. Additional products include digital marketing packs (Nominee Pack, Winner Pack, Commendation Pack) and physical merchandise (Winner Wall Plaque). Entries are submitted during defined entry windows, evaluated by Nova School of Business students, and winners are determined through global public and industry voting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards (Annual Programme) The flagship annual awards programme recognizing sustainable organizations, destinations, and individuals in the global travel and hospitality industry. Open to entrants across 18+ categories spanning destinations (5 by continent), small businesses under 50 employees (4 categories), large businesses 50+ employees (4 categories), and individual leaders/influencers (5 categories). Entry is gated by category-specific criteria and a paid entry fee, with judging culminating in an annual international gala ceremony.
• Digital Nominee Pack Standalone digital recognition pack priced at £299 for shortlisted nominees, providing digital assets (certificate, logos, and social media content) for use in nominee marketing communications.
• Digital Winner Pack Standalone digital recognition pack priced at £350 for award winners, providing enhanced digital assets (winner certificate, winner logos, and social media content) for use in winner marketing and PR activities.
• Digital Commendation Pack Digital recognition pack for entries receiving a commendation, providing digital assets to acknowledge near-winner status and support ongoing sustainability communications.
• Winner Wall Plaque Physical commemorative plaque priced at £650 for winners, intended for display in hotels, offices, and public venues to signal sustainability award status.
• Tiered Winner Packages (Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum) Tiered recognition packages for award winners across Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels, offering increasing levels of digital assets, ceremony access, marketing exposure, and partnership benefits. Sold to winners seeking varying degrees of post-award amplification.
• Category Sponsorship Sponsorship rights for specific award categories, sold to brands and organizations seeking category-exclusive visibility, brand association with sustainability leadership, and access to the WSTHA nominee and winner network. Sponsors receive branded placement across category communications and the annual gala ceremony.

Quantifiable outcome

• 26% reduction in plate waste during Green Ramadan initiative

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• World Sustainable Hospitality AllianceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership bringing together the Awards and the Alliance's Summit into one global platform. The Alliance's members represent over 66,000 hotels, 8 million rooms, 300 brands, and 100+ supply chain and strategic partners. The combined annual event is held each November.
• Terra (Expo City Dubai)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial Venue Partner; Terra is the Sustainability Pavilion and a showcase of sustainable best practice with LEED Platinum certification. Hosted COP 28 and serves as the venue for the annual ceremony.
• Future Hospitality Summit (FHS World)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial World Partner; global platform connecting hospitality investment decision-makers, bringing together investors, hotel owners and operators from Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and Americas.
• Fresh On TablecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Culinary Partner; impact-driven AgriTech platform promoting local farms and sustainability. Partners with 290+ hotel chains and 90+ farms in UAE. Provides carbon-neutral, farm-to-table menus for ceremonies.
• BiospherecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent Partner; international sustainability management and certification system aligned with UN SDGs. Present in 77+ countries with 4,400+ member companies and 30M annual tourist visits.
• NOVA School of Business & EconomicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch Partner; ranked FT Top 30 European Business School. Students in Sustainable Business review, analyse and score all award applications against entry criteria.
• PinwheelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent Partner; provides carbon removal, biodiversity protection and habitat restoration projects. Specialises in beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) aligned with SBTi and WWF corporate blueprint.
• Institute of TourismminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent Partner; dedicated to fostering global dialogue in travel and tourism. Organises conferences, webinars and seminars with 4,000+ members from 85 countries across 40 research centres.
• Tourism EconomicsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner providing tourism economics research and analytics support.
• Travel UniminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal Partner; provides sustainability expert courses and educational resources.
• Breaking Travel NewsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner providing coverage for winners and ceremony events.
• Best in Travel MagazineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Sustainability special edition magazine; leading luxury travel magazine.
• La PochetteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent partner; sustainable tableware for gala ceremonies.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Booking.com Travel Sustainable Badge Programme: Free tiered sustainability badges issued to accommodations meeting sustainability criteria; benchmarks sustainable travel recognition criteria and competes for the same property-side mindshare on sustainability credibility.
• Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards: Globally recognised travel awards programme monetised via badges, certificates and winner promotion across a large distribution platform. Overlaps with WSTHA in marketing-asset productisation and global hotel participation.
• Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards: Annual consumer-voted recognition programme for hotels, destinations and travel experiences. Comparable in ceremony-driven model, consumer voting, and marketing-asset upsell to winners (badges, editorial features).
• World MICE Awards: Another operating sibling under the same World Luxury Media Group portfolio using the identical gala + voting + winner-package model. Demonstrates the parent's repeatable template and provides direct benchmark for WSTHA's economics.
• Skift Awards: Industry awards programme for travel brands, with categories spanning sustainability, technology, and leadership — directly overlapping WSTHA's recognition-of-sustainability scope and media-driven award model.
• World Travel Awards: Operates under the same parent (World Luxury Media Group Limited) and uses the identical annual gala + voting methodology in the broader travel space. WSTHA is explicitly positioned as a sister programme, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards: Annual reader-voted awards for hotels, cities, cruise lines and more, with prominent winner badges and editorial amplification. Highly comparable audience (luxury/premium travellers) and monetisation on winner marketing assets.

Emerging players

• Green Key International: Eco-label awarding certificates and recognition plaques to hotels and venues meeting sustainability criteria. Overlaps with WSTHA in hospitality sustainability recognition, though operates as membership/certification rather than annual gala.
• Global Sustainability Tourism Council (GSTC): Sets global standards and criteria for sustainable travel and tourism, used by destinations and operators as a credibility framework. Parallel to WSTHA's UN-SDG mapping and competing for institutional sustainability-authority mindshare.
• EarthCheck: Science-based certification and benchmarking for travel/hospitality sustainability, used by destinations and hotels globally. Closely comparable as a standards/recognition layer in sustainable tourism though with a certification (not gala-award) delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WSTHAwards
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@WSTHAwards
• Facebookfacebook.com/WSTHAwards
• Instagraminstagram.com/WSTHAwards
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/world-sustainable-travel-hospitality-awards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards