Two young travel professionals who founded their own company five years ago because they believed local people were being excluded from the benefits of tourism were awarded the leading sustainable tourism award in London last week.

Amanda and Guy Marks set up Tribes Travel in January 1998 on fair-trade principles. They are the first travel company to win the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Global Award in its 12-year history; previous winners have been conservation projects. They were chosen from five category winners.

Amanda, who was a marketing manager for an overland tour operator, and Guy, a freelance travel writer and photographer, sell cultural holidays, wildlife safaris and trekking trips. "We felt that sustainable tourism was too focused on wildlife and the environment and that local communities held the key," said Amanda. "If you don't win over the people, you can't make it work. It is they who stop the poaching and make things happen in their own neck of the woods."

Tribes seeks to ensure that that 75% of a trip price goes back to the host community. Suppliers complete questionnaires to ensure that facilities and activities are environmentally sound while travellers are given destination information and guidelines on behaving responsibly.

Bouma National Heritage Park on the Fijian island of Taveuni won the national parks and protected areas award for developing low-impact tourism as an alternative to logging. The winner of the accommodation award was Club Sun 'n' Sand, near Mombasa in Kenya, while the Oak Hammond Marsh Interpretive Centre in Canada took the environmental experience prize.

A joint project by Greaves Travel and Jaisalmer in Jeopardy won the built environment award for its work in saving the historic Rajasthan fortress city, which had been listed as an endangered site by the World Monument Fund.