How does sustainable tourism look like for you?

PHOTO COMPETITION

Kaluderovac boardwalk

Kaluderovac boardwalk ΙΙ Jury’s favourite

ΙΙ Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
ΙΙ Tim Edmonds

On a recent trip to Croatia I ventured off the coastal beach and island route to explore some of Croatia's natural inland beauty. The Plitvice Lakes was the highlight of the trip with its unique, captivating landscape and diverse plant & wildlife.  I returned in the evening, with the place to myself, to take this photo.
The Plitvice Lakes is within the Karst region and has benefited from the Karst Ecosystem Conservation Project which has ensured that the preservation and protection of the natural environment  is successfully integrated with tourism activities by working with local communities.

[mussels picker]

[mussels picker] ΙΙ Jury’s favourite

ΙΙ Ambleteuse, France
ΙΙ Illya Rozenbaum

This picture [mussels picker] represents a traditional and earthy life of a town’s resident. Pitched between sandy dunes and the sea, Ambleteuse is a tiny jewel, neither touched by excessive tourism nor, it seems, by time. It boasts only 2 small hotels and a camping site, but it is mostly caravan-goers and tent-dwellers who come to the town. Inspired by stunning views and the morning tide, which unveil a host of mussels, crabs and other sea creatures, the visitors and residents alike pitch in to collect their dinner.

The hidden narrow gauge railway (Winter)

The hidden narrow gauge railway (Winter) ΙΙ Jury’s favourite

ΙΙ High in the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria
ΙΙ Svetlin Marinov

And finally, the winter silently covers everything with snow. But, like in a fairytale; the little “Polar Express” restlessly travels through the white trees.

Realy responsible

Sventa, Latvia  ΙΙ Aleksandrs Lobovs
Realy responsible

Traveling is a part of people's lives, there are different reasons why people travel. Most people think, that traveling can bring a new sense of life, they want to see other people’s lives, learn from other cultures. They want to see the difference between their culture and other cultures. They want to experience other worlds, because for them traveling is fun while learning.
Some travel for their goals, some travel for fun and relaxation and some

Wild horses

Bulgaria, Beglikka  ΙΙ Beglikka, Bulgaria
Wild horses

This is a perfect place for tourism in Rhodopy mountain-Bulgaria. The place called Beglika is like a surreal dream, and they still have wild horses. Early in the morning, I found this beautiful scene.

Der See ruft (The lake is calling)

Obernberger See, Tirol, Austria  ΙΙ Emir Handžo
Der See ruft (The lake is calling)

Sitting on the stone in the middle of the lake - feeling the energy and looking into amazing natural colours. This image should give you positive vibrations and remind you to honour nature. The human being is greeting  nature and looks forward to life on earth, although he would like to have a look at the moon. The Obernberger Lake: Right situated in the heart of Alps, the area is prides itself in one of Austria’s most beautiful highland lakes. Surrounded with alpine botanical gardens and snow-covered peaks from which you can enjoy a perfect view onto the sea.

Winter holidays

Rawka River, Poland  ΙΙ Ewa Mazgajska
Winter holidays

Winter canoeing on the wild, cold, unpredictable and whimsical Rawka river

Routemarker N10

Vitosha Mountains, Bulgaria  ΙΙ Pavel Pronin
Routemarker N10

Vitosha Mountain is located on the outskirts of the capital of Bulgaria – Sofia and it is a popular tourist destination throughout the year. In summer, with its deep forests, cool rivers and a variety of wild berries it provides an escape from the heat of a big city. In winter it is filled with skiers who are eager to feel the rush of adrenaline sliding down the steep slopes. And with its highest peak of Cherni Vrah (2290 Meters), stone rivers and impressive cliffs it is a beloved place for experienced mountaineers and amateur hikers alike.

Lake of Hald

Lake of Hald, Viborg, Denmark  ΙΙ René Roalf Jensen
Lake of Hald

A very old historical place in Denmark where kings lived around the year 1000. It's still a very beautiful place and the area has a very special and stunning nature, and also a rare wood with very old oak trees. This image is meant to capture the sense of beauty, nature and calm feeling which is the 'brand' of this area. I have also tried to capture the 'unreal' sense of this place due to all the history and myths, that's connected to it. For that purpose the image was shot during sunset and with a very long exposure (1-6 minutes). The image is just one out of many images, taken to investigate the theme 'REAL' - earlier this year a several of my 'REAL-images' featured in an exhibition with legendary photographers Pete Turner (US), Taffi Rosen (CA) and Ragne Sigmond (NO) at the Danish Museum of Photography.

Stone legend

Lago della vecchia, Piedicavallo, Piemonte, Italy  ΙΙ Anna Teresa Vantin
Stone legend

Once upon a time.... there was a very beautiful girl who loved a man...but the war killed him and then the girl lived in the mountains with a bear.  Considered a sorceress to which the people of the area went went for advice, remedies, and medicines. When she died she was, according to Celtic traditions, buried at the bottom of the Lake: there the two spirits lovers ' met and became one. Even today, during magical moonlit nights, there are those who say that you can see a ghost with long white hair fly over the surface of the Lake,. It is the old friend shadow that loves mortals, saves the lost and protects lovers. This legend was written in the stone so that tourists can read it and remember her.

Rila, 7 Rilski Lakes

Rila, Bulgaria  ΙΙ Todor Tsvetkov
Rila, 7 Rilski Lakes

The Kidney (2282m)-one of the seven rila lakes, in the mountain range. An elfin point, a point that charges you with mystique and leaves you bewitched. The mountain Rila is one of the most beautiful small corners in our country, a place where you can experience such lovely flashes.

Freedom

Sozopol, Bulgaria  ΙΙ Todor Tsvetkov
Freedom

The Sozopol rocks are the point, where you can feel and smell the black sea. It is an experience that feeds your soul and the romantic calmness of its sunsets should be shared with someone you love.

Debate at the avian European Parliament

Wiltshire, United Kingdom  ΙΙ Giulia Grimaldi
Debate at the avian European Parliament

Avian EU deputies debating about the environment

Looking the bottom of the sea

Lefkada Island, Greece  ΙΙ Thomas Papandreou
Looking the bottom of the sea

This photo was taken just off a Greek island which is named Lefkada. Lefkada is well-known for its green-blue, crystal-clear and brilliantly clean waters, with white sand hidden beneath the steep cliffs that is revealed to the visitor as he slowly descends the steps which bring him down to the beach. This unique landscape is so spectacular that it will be inscribed forever in the memory of whoever visits this island. There are many people who have gone there only to enjoy this beauty. Like these two men who are exploring the bottom of the sea.

Angling in Akureyri

Akureyri, Iceland  ΙΙ Joanna Wajdzik
Angling in Akureyri

In environmental terms, Iceland is unique. Nowhere else you will feel such a strong human respect for nature, and balance between them at once. Iceland is one of the biggest unspoiled areas in Europe and its exceptional heritage. Nevertheless, a protected area is not a piece of land we’re not allowed to enjoy. On the contrary – Iceland’s clear air and pristine nature attract more and more foreign visitors, who consider Iceland a premier destination e.g. for outdoor sports. One of them is angling. The enjoyment of the landscape, the chance to relax by one of a hundred salmon rivers, is an unforgettable experience…

Sheep, not cars

Donegal, Ireland  ΙΙ Mark Huys
Sheep, not cars

It was taken last summer in Ireland, the northern part named Donegal. There aren’t many tourists nor people and it’s  beautiful, clean, quiet and green. The people who live there are in perfect harmony.

The hidden narrow gauge railway (Autumn)

High in the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria  ΙΙ Svetlin Marinov
The hidden narrow gauge railway (Autumn)

As the fall spreads among the wild forests high in the mountain; the little train still runs – every single day – for everyone who wants to see its miracles.

Balloon on sea level

Etretat, France  ΙΙ Mathieu van den Berk
Balloon on sea level

Normandy, France. Along the coast of Etretat, huge cliffs rise from the sea. At low tide, you can walk through the caves to deserted beaches. This is one of them, south of the famous Aiguille Creuse formation. At high tide, this beach is covered by three metres of water. Not a place where you would expect a purple balloon. The vibrant, almost glowing colour of the synthetic balloon next to the colours of the sand cliffs, partly cloudy sky and the brown and green sea weeds, shot in HDR, provides a sharp contrast between nature and this man-made item.

Freedom is closer than You think

Nida, Lithuania  ΙΙ Bartosz Jarosz
Freedom is closer than You think

The photo was taken close to Nida town in Lithuania and shows a man going icefishing on Kursky Bay. The bay is so hudge that it's impossible to see the other end of it. "Freedom is closer than You think" means that there are places close to our homes that are still unexplored. But exploring sometimes means to take a look once again at places we know and find something we could miss last time. Or just take a different angle to see places in a new, fresh way.

San Lupo

San Lupo, Italia  ΙΙ Aldo Colucciello
San Lupo

On July, in San Lupo in Benevento County, in South Italy remains a genuine tradition in honor of the Saint Patron. In the afternoon there is a parade of women in the local traditional custom that carry on the head features copper basins containing wheat, and hand little tanks with blessed oil as an offering for "San Lupo". This is the reminiscent when the people have not money available, and contributed to the feast whit natural staffs.

Walking on Dolomiti sky

Sassolungo Dolomiti, Italy  ΙΙ Ennio Baroni
Walking on Dolomiti sky

I took this image on Dolomiti, a wonderful place in northern Italy. I think it is one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, moreover it is easily reachable and enjoyable by everybody. Mountains give their best impressions and emotions to people who respect and love them. I choose to shot this image with my Infrared camera and B/W ,  because it gives more contrast and dramaticity  to the cloudy sky and the mountain. People in the picture  walking in monumental landscape freely..
Express also the  littleness and precariousness of mankind towards Nature.

Cowboy

Mont Pilatus, Switzerland  ΙΙ Nathalie Daoust
Cowboy

This series of photographs are black and white photgraphs taken with a pinhole camera, subsequently hand-coloured.  They were taken in Switzerland, during this stay, I was struck by the immanence and perpetuity of the Alps, as well as by the eerie perfection of its pungent peaks. Compelled to carefully register a response to this physical environment, these photographs reveal an acute sensitivity to the landscape, a fleeting moment standing still.

Straight

Endla marshland, Estonia  ΙΙ Csaba Jekkel
Straight

The Endla marshland is the biggest of Estonia's many swamps. Sphagnum mosses dominate in the bog creating an environment that is poor in nutrients and therefore only about twenty species of vascular plants (among them Leather leaf Chamaedaphne calyculata, Heather Calluna vulgaris, Marsh andromeda Andromeda polifolia, sundews etc.) can survive. Entering into the marshland is only possible on the narrow plank roads and the visitors only allowed to take photographs and nothing else with themself.

São João da Pesqueira

Ervedosa do Douro, São João da Pesqueira, Portugal  ΙΙ Rui Pires
São João da Pesqueira

Douro´s River is the third longest river of the Iberian Peninsula. Rising in the Sierra de Urbión in Spain, the river crosses the Numantian Plateau in a pronounced bend and flows generally westward for 895 km across Spain and northern Portugal to the Atlantic Ocean at Foz do Douro - Oporto. Portuguese Douro´s River valley is a paradise and patrimonium of humanity by UNESCO. It´s a place where visitors can spend fantastic vacations inside pure nature. A place where visitor can take contact with rural people that spend his life in production of the famous Oporto wine and share his secular culture.  There's no better way to discover Portugal's lush vineyards, storied culture and stunning natural beauty than in Douro River valley. This photo represents all that waits the visitor in this paradise, taken from the heart of Douro´s Region: the city of São João da Pesqueira.

Borderless

Sand Valley, Brescia, Italy  ΙΙ Roberto Ricca
Borderless

An old farmer in the picturesque Sand Valley (Val Sabbia in italian) close to Idro Lake in Brescia, resting and staring at the beautiful mountains sorroundings his fields.