MTR Launches International Toilet Tourism Awards

Ahead of UN International Toilet Day on 19 November, MyTravelResearch.com announces the “Toilet Tourism Awards” to highlight the close link between toilets and successful tourism

MyTravelResearch.com will launch the “Toilet Tourism Awards” on 19 November, UN World Toilet Day.

The aim of the awards is to show the link between adequate provision of good toilets and success in a visitor economy reliant on tourists, and to raise awareness of sanitation and toilet provision, especially in developing economies.

The UN says that inadequate toilet facilities cause disease, environmental health challenges, increased mortality, lack of productivity at work and security compromises for women. One in ten people still resort to open defecation daily. The UN is seeking to create adequate toilet provision for everyone by 2030.

The availability and quality of toilets impacts tourism in developed and lesser-developed economies, says MyTravelResearch.com, a tourism industry research consultancy. “Our focus is strictly on the overlap between toilets and tourism. That’s where we can make a positive contribution,” says Bronwyn White, co-founder of MTR.

In the Toilet Tourism Awards, the winners will be in six categories: Overall Winner, Best Tourism Economic Contributor (for when people stop at a toilet in a destination and stay on to spend more than a penny), Best Location (where the toilets have views and maybe considered an attraction in themselves), Best Design (architectural brilliance in toilets, visual design and creativity), Best Accessible Toilet, Quirkiest Toilet Experience (relating to local heritage, fun, or otherwise noteworthy).

From 19 November, toilet owners in tourism destinations around the world can express their interest in the awards here and MTR will send out the forms. Submissions close 1 April 2017. The winners will be announced at the Travel and Tourism Research Association international conference in Quebec, Canada, 22 June 2017.

The Overall Winner will receive a AU$2000 donation contributed to World Toilet Day in their name and a copy of every MTR research publication in 2017 (worth AU$8000) and access to tourism research events.

Other category winners will receive the same, minus the donation to World Toilet Day.

“This is the chance for toilet owners in tourism to wipe the floor with the competition,” says White. “I like to think of the Toilet Tourism Awards as the tourism industry’s own Game of Thrones.”

##

Useful toilet tourism links:
Toilet Tourism: Making a Marketing Splash
World Toilet Day Stories
UN World Toilet Day homepage
World Toilet Day 2016: Toilets and Jobs
The World’s Most Amazing Toilets

About MyTravelResearch.com
MyTravelResearch.com is a market research and marketing firm specializing in the travel, tourism and aviation industries. Its specialty is providing insights that are actionable.

Founded by principals with lifetime careers in travel, tourism and aviation, MyTravelResearch.com exists to build the visitor economy and successful tourism businesses. It does this by putting the voice of the customer and best practice business thinking into an easy to implement, hands-on approach via an innovative membership model. MyTravelResearch.com can help:

* National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) meet the expectations of their industry by acting as an extension of their research and marketing resources
* Businesses make more informed decisions. (It is like having your own research and/or marketing team)

Visit www.MyTravelResearch.com
Email: carolyn@mytravelresearch.com or bronwyn@mytravelresearch.com

Media queries
ScottAsia Communications
Asia Pacific office: Tel. (+66) [0] 91 806 0484 (Ann Sriwongsa)
Email: ann@scottasia.net

UK office: Tel. (+44) [0] 7949 077959 (Ken Scott)
Email: kens@scottasia.net