Overseas Adventure Travel Wins Travel + Leisure's 2010 Global Vision Award for Philanthropic Travel

Panel of Judges Including Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, Liya Kebede, and Louie Psihoyos Select 19 Companies and Organizations That Are Improving the World Through Travel

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Overseas Adventure Travel

Oct 27, 2010, 01:15 ET

BOSTON, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Alan E. Lewis, Chairman of Overseas Adventure Travel (www.oattravel.com), today announced that OAT has been awarded a Global Vision Award by Travel + Leisure. In its sixth year, the Global Vision Awards honor companies and organizations that are making a difference in the traveler's world. Details are included in the magazine's November issue, currently on newsstands, and on www.travelandleisure.com. OAT's "Unraveling the Maya's Mysteries" tour is one of Travel + Leisure's 22 Trips of a Lifetime that are also featured in the issue.

"We are honored to be recognized by Travel + Leisure for our philanthropic efforts and salute its editors for encouraging the travel industry to become more involved," said Lewis. "Our mission as an organization is to help change people's lives, and we hope we're accomplishing this through our support of schools and communities worldwide and the volunteer community service efforts of our associates around the globe. "

OAT was awarded Travel + Leisure's Global Vision Award in the category of "Philanthropic Travel." In particular, the company was cited for having donated or pledged $50 million to educational, development and cultural preservation projects around the world, including support of more than 100 schools in 30 countries through its World Classroom Program; for raising emergency funds for disaster relief in such areas as Haiti and Peru; and for its Community Service Program, through which its employees organize more than 30 service projects around the world each year, with 94% employee participation.

Travel + Leisure's 19 Global Vision award winners were chosen by an esteemed panel of seven judges, including Nobel-prize winning economist Dr. Joseph Stiglitz; model, designer, and goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization Liya Kebede; and Oscar-winning documentarian (The Cove) Louie Psihoyos. The winners, selected from about 150 nominations, are recognized in five categories -- conservation, sustainability, preservation, development, and leadership -- and represent the latest and best examples of the power of travel as an engine of positive change.

ABOUT OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Established in 1978, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) is part of Boston-based Grand Circle Corporation's family of travel companies, and it offers unique small group adventures worldwide to Americans age 50 and older. OAT has been rated among the top 15 tour operators and safari outfitters by the readers of Travel + Leisure for six years running and in 2007, was named one of the top 3 world's best value tour operators. Grand Circle is headquartered in Boston, Mass., with more than 30 offices throughout Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

SOURCE Overseas Adventure Travel