The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) has selected Zakouma National Park in Chad, Africa, and Toronto's Distillery Historic District in Ontario, Canada, as its 2018 Phoenix Award winners. Established in 1969, the Phoenix Award is SATW'S highest recognition bestowed to individuals, businesses, organizations and communities who have demonstrated exceptional efforts in preserving, conserving, beautifying or protecting the historic, cultural and natural resources of an area. These tangible results enhance the economic, socio-cultural heritage, and/or environmental benefits to the destination and its value to tourism. This year's honorees were announced yesterday, during the SATW Annual Convention in Barbados. 

Zakouma National Park in Chad, Africa 

Zakouma National Park, a 3,000-square-kilometer reserve located in Chad's Salamat Region, is a safe haven for Central and West African wildlife. Its primary goal is to eliminate elephant poaching. Other objectives include stabilizing the population of Kordofan giraffe (50 percent of this endangered population resides in Zakouma), the reintroduction of black rhinos, eliminating fish poaching in the Salamat River, and providing well-paying jobs and schools for locals.

Zakouma is under the direct management of the non-profit conservation organization African Parks, whose president is His Royal Highness, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in South Africa, African Parks manages 15 national parks and protected areas in nine countries and has one of the largest counter-poaching forces in Africa.

The success of African Parks' efforts, since taking over management of Zakouma in 2010, has been phenomenal. Between 2002 and 2010, 95 percent of Zakouma's 4,000 elephants had been poached for their ivory. Since 2010, only 24 elephants have been killed by poachers and the herd has been increasing in size. In 2011, African Parks counted only one elephant calf in Zakouma; in early 2017, there were 81 calves under the age of three. As well, hiring locals and providing schooling for children are key to Zakouma's sustainability in a somewhat volatile corner of Africa. During the 2017 tourism season, Zakouma saw 2,225 tourists, an 83 percent increase from 2016.

Phoenix judges commented: Zakouma deserves the highest praise and recognition considering that the NGO and people of Chad worked against life-threatening situations and their own struggles for survival to save the African elephant and Black Rhino. Their triumph should be trumpeted as loudly as the calls of the great African elephant. Zakouma hits all the Phoenix Award benchmarks in terms of environment, conservation and preservation. For more information, visit www.africanparks.org/the-parks/zakouma.

Toronto's Distillery Historic District

Toronto's Distillery Historic District is today a vibrant village that transformed and revitalized a derelict complex of buildings that once housed the renowned Gooderham & Worts whiskey distillery, founded in 1832. The 14-acre site, housing 43 historic structures, is considered the best-preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America, and is designated a Canadian National Historic Site. When the distillery ceased operations in 1990, the entire site languished as an industrial ghost town. In 2001, the Distillery District Co-Ownership (aka Cityscape Holdings) purchased the site with intentions “to promote arts and culture in a renewed historic district.” Opened in 2003, the Distillery District has evolved into a thriving pedestrian-only hub that attracts locals and tourists to restaurants, cafés, shops, galleries, productions at the Soulpepper Theatre, and a flow of art exhibits and events.

Maintaining the pristine Victorian industrial heritage of the Gooderham & Worts structures while transforming the site and buildings into a viable village was considered the most complex development of its time, in terms of adhering to strict standards for architectural preservation. The location itself posed a challenge. Typically, neighborhoods grow from the expansion of nearby existing neighborhoods, but this site was, literally, amid nothing. So, in addition to preserving the distillery site, the developers built a surrounding residential neighborhood.

The project has been a success, drawing huge crowds to such annual events as the Toronto Christmas Market (650,000 visitors annually) and the Toronto Light Festival (150,000). The on-site Soulpepper Theatre is Canada's most awarded repertory theater company, and the surrounding restaurants and shops support local growers, producers and artisans. For more information, visit www.thedistillerydistrict.com

Phoenix judges commented: Toronto's Distillery District epitomizes the challenges of preserving a derelict place with no saving grace except for historic architecture and turning it into a vibrant village that serves locals and tourists alike. It takes vision and backbone to turn skid row around and make it a place people want to be, one that preserved Toronto history and wrote a new page in it. Done with style, truly Canadian, extraordinary.

About SATW

Founded in 1955, SATW's goal is to inspire travel through responsible journalism. Its members include more than 1,100 travel writers, photographers, editors, broadcast/video/film producers, bloggers, public relations experts and hospitality industry representatives from the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.satw.org. 

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Toby Saltzman, Phoenix Committee Chair

416-927-9218, tobysaltzman@rogers.com

Laurie Armstrong Gossy, Phoenix Committee Vice Chair

415-227-2615, laurie@sftravel.com