Mashovhela Lodge - selected as a finalist in this year’s Imvelo Awards

Mashovhela Lodge in the Soutpansberg Mountains of the Limpopo Province in South Africa has been selected as a finalist in this year’s Imvelo Awards. Out of 209 category entries received only 23 businesses were selected as finalists.

Imvelo – which means ‘nature’ in South Africa’s Nguni languages - encourages industry members to accept voluntary guidelines promoting responsible tourism. The awards are in line with the responsible tourism guidelines for the South African hospitality industry and the UN World Tourism Organisation’s code of ethics, and are supported by the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme.

Mashovhela Lodge has already been awarded a Gold Leaf by the Wilderness Foundation Green Leaf Standard for its eco-tourism practices as well as the South African Tourism Welcome Award for the best Lodge in South Africa for 2009/2010.

Peter Morrison, Marketing Manager for Mashovhela Lodge says “With the global concerns about the environment it is wonderful to be associated with a company that has minimised its carbon footprint as much as Mashovhela Lodge has. All the details on how this has been achieved are outlined on our website,  ”

Mashovhela Lodge has entered the Imvelo Awards in 3 categories namely, Best Overall Environmental Management System, Best Water Management and Best Energy Management.

The winners of the Imvelo Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held in Johannesburg on World Responsible Tourism Day, 10 November 2010.