"Joys of Travel" Photo Contest - Win the Trip of a Lifetime All for a Good Cause

Nov. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- Kutoa is an innovative new company that promotes “socially green travel” by providing travelers with a centralized, user-friendly online hub to find trips that make a difference.  All hotels, ecolodges, resorts, and tour companies listed on http://www.KutoaTravel.com donate time, goods, or money to important social causes in their local communities.  The company offers options for all budgets, travel tastes, and adventure levels.

Kutoa is currently hosting the "Joys of Travel" Photo Contest, giving travelers the chance to win one of seven incredible international trips.  Kutoa will donate 20% of all contest proceeds directly to the social causes at the destinations chosen by the winners.  Entry costs $10 USD and includes submission of up to three photographs.  Submissions must be made by December 31, 2011.  Two winners will be announced January 1, 2012, and the winning photographers will be awarded the trip of their choosing.  The winning photographs will be judged 40% on creativity, 40% on photographic quality, and 20% on expression of the theme “Joys of Travel.”  The contest is open to photographers of all skills and abilities.   Photos should convey any small or big moment, sensation, or experience that represents to the photographer the Joys of Travel.  

The two winners will choose from the following prizes:

- 4-night jungle river cruise for 2 people through Kalimantan Tour Destinations in Indonesia ($2,000 USD value);
- Canopy tour for 4 people through Stormsriver Adventures in South Africa plus 25% off accommodations at an ecolodge ($825 USD value for canopy tour, plus additional 25% discount on lodging);
- 4-day volunteering and local cultural tour in the Ancash region of Peru with RESPONSible Travel ($250-500 USD value);
- 4-day hike to Machu Picchu from Cuzco through the Inka Trails with RESPONSible Travel Peru ($450-700 USD value);
- 4-night tropical and migratory bird exploration trip for 2 people at Finca Esperanza Verde Ecolodge and Organic Coffee Farm in Nicaragua ($760 USD);
- 4-night coffee and campesino cultural exploration trip for 2 people at Finca Esperanza Verde Ecolodge and Organic Coffee Farm in Nicaragua ($760 USD); and
- 4-night Amazonian ecolodge experience for 1 person, plus 15% off the second traveler, with Sani Lodge in Ecuador ($860 USD, plus 15% discount on second traveler).

Visit http://www.KutoaTravel.com/Giveaway to learn more, view sample photographs, and submit the entry form.  Travelers can also find out more about Kutoa and the Joys of Travel Photo Contest on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Kutoa.

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Kutoa is an online search database for travelers to find trips that make a difference to the local communities they visit. We harness the power of the travel industry to improve, impact, and empower local communities. The word Kutoa means “to give” in Swahili, and we strive to transform tourism into a giving industry by extending the financial gains and resources of tourism to important local causes. Our Member Businesses include hotels and tour companies that actively donate money or in-kind goods or services to important local causes. By linking socially green businesses, travelers, and community organizations together, we seek to drive healthy social and economic progress around the world.