00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - The jury was unanimous about the overall winner.
00:07 And there are several reasons for it.
00:09 Stonehenge in the Nubra Valley, Ladakh,
00:13 is our proud overall winner for this edition.
00:18 - Somebody builds a resort or a hotel,
00:21 trying to build it on completely sustainable platforms
00:25 is very, very difficult.
00:28 But try and do this in a place which is difficult to reach,
00:32 you know, high up in the mountains,
00:34 in Ladakh, for example, which is where Stonehenge is.
00:38 It's a Herculean task.
00:41 They have incorporated aspects of sustainability,
00:44 which are complete.
00:47 They've looked at energy, water, waste management,
00:49 architecture, supply chain.
00:51 They've looked at social aspects of sustainability.
00:53 Importantly, when somebody does what they've done,
00:57 like Stonehenge, this now becomes like an example
01:01 for the rest of the world.
01:02 - One is awed and humbled by the fact that
01:05 the people who are behind the project
01:08 have been demonstrating responsible tourism in practice,
01:12 whether it is about finding local employment,
01:15 whether it is sourcing their, you know,
01:19 the materials from local farms,
01:22 or whether it is opening up the property.
01:26 And at the time of crisis,
01:28 so that the hotel shut down its operations as a hotel
01:33 and transformed itself as a community center,
01:36 providing shelter at the time of crisis.
01:40 I think it's a proud ambassador
01:42 for responsible tourism for the country, Stonehenge, Ladakh.
01:45 (upbeat music)
01:48 (upbeat music)
