Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2012

Hurghada's very own UK operated and managed liveaboard fleet, blue o two, have just had the great news that they have been shortlisted for the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2012! This is fantastic news, not only for anyone associated with blue o two, but for tourism in Egypt itself. As we all know, Egypt can use all the positive press it can get at the moment, even more so when it comes to showing that the tourism industry is bouncing back and ready to provide superior service. 

blue o two has been in operation in Egypt since 2001, and accommodates approximately 5,000 guests each year. Their growing fleet of ships have already proven to be outstanding, with M/Y blue Melody (Pictured below) already having won the award for best liveaboard in the 2012 Sport Diver Awards. Their dive destinations have expanded beyond just Egypt, and now offer liveaboard excursions from the Maldives, to Mexico, and more!


Photo courtesy of blue o two

In addition to making waves in the water with a sparkling liveaboard reputation, blue o two go above and beyond to give back to the marine environment, not only in Hurghada, but around the world. In Red Sea dives, blue o two has trained dive guides to instruct guests on how to implement HEPCA's underwater clean ups, and continue to help remove refuse from the Red Sea bed with each and every trip out. Their commitment to excellence extends far beyond just customer service and truly showcases the comapny's belief in giving something back.

Alongside this, blue o two has been an outstanding contributor to the UK based Bite Back shark and marine conservation charity. With an annual pledge of £10,000, in the first 12 months of partnership with Bite Back the fleet managed to raise an astounding £13,494 for marine conservation. As Campaign Director for Bite Back Graham Buckingham said: “Not only does blue o two lead the industry in terms of product and customer satisfaction, it has also set the dive holiday standard for supporting marine conservation initiatives. The financial windfall from the ‘Breathe Life Into The Oceans’ programme has directly funded programmes that have seen the charity negotiate with MAKRO to stop selling blue shark in 18 stores, prompt Innocent Drinks to drop an on-pack promotion to win 50 shark fishing prizes, expose and reform Slimming World’s suggestion that its 400,000 members eat shark to lose weight, and rebuild its web site entirely. Bite-Back is truly indebted to blue o two for its support and commitment to protecting and celebrating the oceans.”

blue o two has previously won the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards for "Best in a Marine Environment," in 2007, and were Highly Commended in 2008. Here's wishing then the best of luck this year, let's hope that they can bring that title home to Hurghada again!

2 comments:

  1. Warum bedauern wir Leute, die nicht reisen können? Weil sie sich, indem sie sich äußerlich nicht ausbreiten können, auch innerlich nicht auszudehnen vermögen, sie können sich nicht vervielfältigen, und so ist ihnen die Möglichkeit genommen, weitläufige Ausflüge in sich selbst zu unternehmen und zu entdecken, wer und was anderes sie auch hätten werden können. Flights to Douala
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  2. He turns his back to the far shore and rows toward it. He can in this way travel away from, yet still see, his house....he feels he is riding a floating skeleton...Some birds in the almost-dark are flying as close to their reflections as possible. Flights to Accra
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