We are proud to announce the Tourdust.com scholarship as part of the Geotourism Challenge 09.  Tourdust, the marketplace for locally-sourced off the beaten track travel experiences, is supporting a scholarship prize to identify and support innovative and socially responsible geotourism businesses (such as tour operators and activity guides).

The prize is designed to give three Tourdust winners a long-term boost toward economic sustainability, giving them the skills and connections to promote themselves directly to customers around the world.  The prize consists of two main elements:

• Support in building sustainable marketing channels through social media and industry partnerships. The winners will each be assigned an experienced mentor who will share his/her adventure travel and social media experience, expertise, and network.  As a culmination of the mentorship, Tourdust will provide financial support¹ to attend a major international travel conference.
• A short-term marketing boost to raise each winner’s international profile. The winners will receive complimentary premium membership of Tourdust, with US$600 worth of online advertising² across a number of high-quality travel content and community sites.

What are we looking for?

• An innovative approach to balancing the needs of travellers and the local community;
• Guides (or hosts) who have in-depth knowledge and passion for their place or activity and are actively sharing it with their guests and their local communities;
• Must be offering a travel experience available to international travellers, e.g., guided tours, activities, or courses.

Want to apply for your business?

Complete the entry form for the Geotourism Challenge 2009

Want to nominate someone else?

On your travels have you had a fantastic experience, one characterized by a strong degree of authenticity and local color, culture, and heritage?  Please nominate the travel innovators here.

What is Tourdust?

Tourdust.com helps independent travellers find locally sourced “off-the-beaten-track” experiences.  All the trips are run by grassroots local operators who pride themselves on delivering genuine personal experiences and are keen to share their passion with travellers.  Tourdust puts travellers directly in contact with local operators ensuring more of their money goes to support the local economy.

Who are the mentors?

The mentors all share a strong expertise in social media and the adventure travel industry³:

• Christina Heyniger: Founder of Off The Radar (link to www.travelofftheradar.com) and Xola Consulting Services (link to www.xolaconsulting.com), which works with owner-operators and innovative organizations blending adventure tourism and volunteer service. Christina is an Associate with the Adventure Travel Trade Association and serves on the board of directors for Sustainable Travel International, and Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself - an adventure travel/ volunteer tourism organization. She also serves as an advisor to the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Development.
• Alex Bainbridge: Authoritative & insightful blogger on the travel ecommerce industry writing “the best travel ecommerce blog on the web,” according to Kevin May, editor of Travolution. (www.tourcms.com/blog/alexbainbridge). Alex is the founder and MD of Tour CMS, a web-based reservation system designed for small and medium-sized tour operators.  Alex has significant expertise in harnessing ecommerce and social media for small travel businesses.
• Chris Noble: General Manager of World Nomads (link to worldnomads.com) and co-founder of Footprintsnetwork (link to www.footprintsnetwork.org). Footprintsnetwork is an alliance of online e-commerce companies making a difference with a solution that supports sustainable poverty alleviation community programs.

^1. Financial support is up to the value of US$1000 and will be provided for reasonable costs of travel and participation at a major travel conference.  The conference and extent of participation will be determined by Tourdust.

^2. Online advertising will be through Tourdust’s advertising network.  The content, nature, placement, and timing of adverts will be determined by Tourdust.  Advertising up to the value of US$600 is based on price of subscriptions published on www.tourdust.com.

^3. Mentors are subject to change. The mentor relationship will cover one review a month (by phone or email) for a minimum period of 4 months unless otherwise agreed by both participants. Mentors will provide guidance on a range of topics depending on the specific skill set of the mentor. Topics covered could include: establishing a social media presence (blog, twitter etc.), e-commerce & marketing strategies, management systems, building relationships with international partners and introductions to relevant contacts.