Thursday January 16, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Two IMPACT Awards will be presented at the 2025 IMPACT SUMMIT in Victoria on Sunday January 26.
The IMPACT SUMMIT: Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference will see Celes Davar and Wade Davis receive the award.
- One award celebrates individuals and organizations who inspire and lead in creating positive impacts for communities, the economy, and the environment. This award is being presented to Celes Davar.
- The other award honours an individual who seeks ways to support the revitalization of wildlife, culture, and natural spaces through education, leading by example, and empowering others to commit to climate action. Wade Davis is the distinguished recipient of this award.
Celes Davar, President of Earth Rhythms: 2025 IMPACT Award Recipient
Celes Davar, an experiential tourism operator, is recognized for his outstanding contributions to sustainable tourism.
As the President of Earth Rhythms, he offers creative, immersive experiences in remote locations along the Bay of Fundy and in the Annapolis Valley region.
Working with Mi’kmaw, Acadian, and local communities, Celes provides enriching storytelling and a deep sense of place through tours enriched with nutritious food, cultural traditions, and themes of climate change, art, live music, and nature. His work is a testament to tourism as a force for good, communicated through well-crafted visitor experiences.
Wade Davis, Professor Emeritus – Anthropology, University of British Columbia: 2025 IMPACT Award Recipient
Wade Davis is celebrated for his dedication to the revitalization of wildlife, culture, and natural spaces through education and empowerment towards climate action.
With a rich career as an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and a Professor of Anthropology at UBC, Wade has published 24 books in 23 languages and is the recipient of 12 honorary degrees of the Explorers Club.
Registering for IMPACT 2025:
The tourism and business community are invited to register for the one-day IMPACT 2025 conference on Sunday January 26 at impactnational.ca to hear from the award-winning leaders.
Wade will share his expertise, emphasizing the importance of biological and cultural diversity and addressing the forces that threaten both. As an early supporter and past speaker at IMPACT, Celes will reprise his role at the conference, closing the event with the inspiring ‘Unite. Commit. Act.’ finale.
Sponsors:
The 2025 IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference is sponsored by Destination Greater Victoria, Gustavson School of Business, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, Tourism Richmond, Rocky Mountaineer, Eagle Wing Tours, Prince of Whales, and MMGY Global.
About the event:
The IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference: IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference was created with the goal of aligning the global tourism industry, as well as stakeholders and communities touched by tourism, behind a vision to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Co-founded by Synergy Enterprises, tartanbond Communications, Starrboard Enterprises, and Destination Greater Victoria, it is held annually at the Victoria Conference Centre, a certified carbon neutral facility in Victoria, B.C. Destination Greater Victoria is also the first destination management organization in Canada to become fully accredited as carbon neutral.
IMPACT’s focus is on creating a collaborative space to learn, innovate, and discover valid and practical solutions toward the positive legacy we want from the tourism and travel industry in a modern and progressive Canada and beyond. In 2023, the co-founders launched the IMPACT event series, supporting national and global destinations in hosting their own IMPACT events. These conferences are a safe place where theory meets practice, and where all voices and levels of expertise are welcome.
About Destination Greater Victoria: Destination Greater Victoria (Greater Victoria Visitors and Convention Bureau) is the region’s official, not-for-profit destination marketing and management organization working in partnership with nearly 1,000 businesses and municipalities in Greater Victoria.
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Destination Greater Victoria unveils 10-year destination master plan to boost visitor economy (November 5, 2024)