The Tingo María de Huánuco National Park was awarded the Green Destinations Story Award at ITB Berlin in the category of prosperous communities, thanks to its inspiring stories and the example of a sustainable destination that its communities maintain, informed the Commission for the Promotion of Peru for the Export and Tourism (PROMPERÚ).
The distinction was received by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, Luis Fernando Helguero, and the executive president of PROMPERÚ, Walter Vizarreta, and revealed during the ceremony at the "Green Stage" of the ITB Berlin 2023 fair to which Peru attends with a delegation of 22 national companies.
The winning story “Tingo María National Park, conserving its biodiversity and ecosystem services for the benefit of the population”, describes how the communities and park administration identified and developed three new business opportunities for their benefit, implementing sustainable practices.
One of them is the sustainable use of the butterfly as a natural resource for the production of handicrafts, souvenirs and accessories. Breeding and extraction protocols for melipona bees were also identified for the production of honey and pollen with medicinal properties and their sale in eco-stores.
Finally, local inputs such as coffee, cocoa, banana, passion fruit, camu, lemon, were used for the production of artisanal ice cream, thus linking agricultural products to the tourism sector.
In this way, strategic alliances were achieved with local populations to access a quality life and generate income in a sustainable manner, mitigating the negative impact on the environment.
Tingo María National Park surpassed sustainable destinations in Thailand, the Philippines, Italy and Estonia. Green Destinations is a global non-profit organization whose goals are to support the sustainability of destinations, their businesses and their communities.