2026 Awards & Recognition
The inaugural Inspire Global Tourism Awards celebrate specialist tour operators demonstrating exceptional expertise, integrity and positive impact through travel.
Independently judged against our three pillars — INSPIRE • INFORM • IMPACT — the 2026 Awards recognise businesses creating exceptional travel experiences for travellers while generating tangible benefits for the people, places and environments that make those experiences possible.
Stories in Motion
Specialist Tour Operator of the Year
Inside Travel Group has been named Specialist Tour Operator of the Year 2026, recognised for an approach that combines deep destination expertise with measurable positive impact and a clear commitment to making tourism work better for both travellers and the places they visit.
Through InsideJapan and InsideAsia, the company demonstrates how thoughtful product design can encourage travellers beyond the obvious, deepen their understanding of the places they visit and create tangible economic benefit for local communities.
Its approach to undertourism particularly stood out: deliberately directing visitors towards destinations with both the capacity and desire to welcome more tourism, while measuring the economic value generated as a result.
From the Judges – The judges were particularly impressed by Inside Travel’s Undertourism strategy — not simply encouraging travellers beyond the obvious, but setting clear targets and measuring the economic value created in less-visited destinations.
The panel highlighted the combination of deep destination knowledge, detailed traveller education and compelling experiences with tangible results: increased overnight stays, greater spending with independent local suppliers, reduced emissions and wider community investment.
Judges praised its “strongest systematic impact measurement” and an approach that makes responsible choices feel like “a better holiday” — demonstrating how commercial success can drive community benefit.
SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
Wild Frontiers has been recognised for a long-standing commitment to immersive, locally led travel and an approach that places local people, knowledge and economic benefit at the heart of the visitor experience.
Across its operations, the company has continued to strengthen local leadership, support employment and opportunity within the communities its travellers visit, and direct tourism towards lesser-visited places.
This is supported by wider environmental commitments and increasingly detailed measurement and reporting of its carbon impact.
From the Judges – The judges were struck by the authenticity and longevity of Wild Frontiers’ approach — nearly 30 years of building relationships, employing local leaders and creating journeys that challenge perceptions of the places travellers visit.
The panel highlighted its support for women-led enterprises, including the Taj City Rickshaw Company in Agra, its Foundation projects, locally led tours, Off-Peak Collection and detailed carbon reporting. The personal relationships behind the journeys particularly resonated, including founder Jonny Bealby’s decades-long connection with the Kalash community.
One judge commented, “I read their entry several times… I am rarely this impressed,” while another felt Wild Frontiers stood out for “the direct impact they’ve had in their destinations.”
SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
Cookson Adventures has been recognised for demonstrating the role that highly personalised travel can play in supporting ambitious conservation and community initiatives in some of the world’s most extraordinary and fragile environments.
Its expeditions connect travellers with scientists, conservationists, local experts and communities, creating experiences that provide exceptional access while helping generate support for the people and projects protecting the places being visited.
From the Judges – The judges recognised Cookson Adventures for placing travellers at the heart of extraordinary conservation work, combining exceptional access with the expertise of scientists, conservationists, historians and local communities.
The panel highlighted tangible examples including the translocation of 14 rhinos and 26 elephants, wildlife collaring programmes, locally operated camps and significant client-supported community investment. Judges also praised the educational depth of the journeys and Cookson Productions’ ability to extend their impact through film and storytelling.
Described by the panel as delivering “exceptional experience design and high-value conservation outcomes,” one judge concluded that Cookson’s ambition in conservation-driven travel was “unmatched.”
The 2026 Finalists
Eight specialist tour operators were shortlisted for the inaugural Inspire Global Tourism Awards:
Africa Overland Adventures • Cookson Adventures • Experience Travel Group • Inside Travel Group • Pura Aventura • Selective Asia • Trotting Soles Travel • Wild Frontiers
Each finalist was assessed against the same INSPIRE • INFORM • IMPACT criteria, with judges considering the depth, authenticity and effectiveness of each operator’s approach rather than simply the scale or resources of the business.
The strength and diversity of the inaugural submissions demonstrated the many different ways specialist tour operators can create positive impact through tourism. We congratulate all eight finalists on the quality of their work and the contribution they are making.
Independently Judged
The Inspire Global Tourism Awards are independently judged by a panel of respected tourism leaders and specialists, bringing expertise spanning sustainable tourism, destination development, travel trends, communications and the visitor economy.
Entries were assessed across three core pillars:
INSPIRE – Inspiring purposeful travel and meaningful connection.
INFORM – Deepening understanding through authentic and insightful storytelling.
IMPACT – Creating measurable positive outcomes for visitors, communities, culture, wildlife, and the environment.
The judging process is designed to recognise the quality and depth of an operator’s work rather than its size or resources, allowing very different specialist businesses to be considered on the strength of their approach and outcomes.
Stories in Motion
Every journey creates a story.
The Inspire Global Tourism Awards celebrate the tourism businesses turning those stories into something more — using tourism to broaden perspectives, deepen understanding and create meaningful positive impact for travellers, communities and destinations.
INSPIRE • INFORM • IMPACT