The National Geographic has announced Feynan Ecolodge as a finalist in their inaugural World Legacy Awards. Feynan has been recognized as a finalist in the Engaging Communities category that recognizes the direct economic and social benefits that the lodge brings that improve the livelihoods of local people. The finalists were announced on 29 October at the ITB Asia event in Singapore.

 

The World Legacy Awards are a new initiative organized by the National Geographic Society, in partnership with ITB Berlin, aiming to recognize world leading tourism businesses that are driving change in the tourism industry, showcasing leaders and visionaries in sustainable tourism best practices.

 

Feynan Ecolodge was named a finalist in the ‘Engaging Communities’ category for its work using ecotourism to benefit the local communities who live around the Dana Biosphere Reserve. This is the latest in a number of awards won by Feynan Ecolodge including being named one of the top 25 ecolodges in the world by National Geographic Traveler Magazine in 2013 and Highly Commended for Poverty Reduction at the Responsible Tourism Awards in 2011.

 

Feynan Ecolodge directly benefits over 80 families (400 people) around the Dana Reserve, using policies such as exclusively local staff, a local community transfer scheme for guests at the lodge, purchasing products from local businesses and housing two workshops onsite that employ local women to make candles and leather handicrafts that are used and sold at the lodge. In 2013, over 50% of the money spent by tourists at Feynan stayed within the local community.

 

“The RSCN is thrilled that our flagship property, Feynan, is a finalist for this award.” said Yehya Khaled, Director General of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), the organization responsible for Dana Biosphere Reserve and owners of Feynan Ecolodge.

 

Visitors to the lodge are also invited to learn about local Bedouin traditions from local families, discover the natural landscape with local trained eco-guides or even spend a day with a local Bedouin shepherd herding goats in the hills.