International accolade for Scotland’s UNESCO Trail

Scotland’s UNESCO Trail has received an international award for responsible tourism. The world’s first UNESCO Trail received the Tourmag - Césars du Voyage Responsable Award at a ceremony in Marseille on Thursday 30 March.

It's the first edition of these awards, organised by Tourmag, a key travel trade publisher in France, and Le Petit Futé, a consumer travel guide publisher. The award celebrates responsible tourism projects and helps reinforce Scotland’s position as a sustainable travel destination.

It follows on from two other awards for the trail – the Santagata Foundation Award for UNESCO Territories 2022 and the Wanderlust Sustainability Award which were both received in November last year.

The winners at the Responsible tourism Cesars Award in Marseille.

About Scotland's UNESCO Trail

Scotland’s UNESCO Trail, a dedicated digital trail, was launched in 2021 to connect 13 place-based designations across the country, including World Heritage Sites, Biospheres, Global Geoparks and Creative Cities to form a dedicated digital trail.

The trail was designed specifically to support the ambitions of the national strategy to make Scotland a world-leading responsible tourism destination. It encourages visitors to stay longer, visit all year round, make sustainable travel choices, explore more widely and at the right time of the year. This in turn, contributes to the sustainable quality of life of those communities surrounding the designated sites.

Scotland is the first nation in the world to create such a pioneering initiative. We developed the trail through a unique partnership between the Scottish Government, the UK National Commission for UNESCO, Historic Environment Scotland, NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland and Scotland’s 13 UNESCO designations.

Find out how you can get involved with Scotland's UNESCO Trail by taking a look at our industry toolkit.