This year's top-scoring hotel chain, resort, destination, and tour operator—Marriott, Jungle Bay Resort & Spa, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, and Buffalo Tours—are making remarkable contributions to the communities they touch

69* Marriott
From Global To Local

Dumitru Marius isn't your typical marriott waiter. Born in a prison near Bucharest during the dark days of Nicolae Ceausescu's dictatorship, he grew up in the infamous Romanian orphanages where kids were often left to wither and starve during the Socialist era. But Marius is more than just a survivor. "I did my best to grow and learn," he says. So when Marriott launched a training program for at-risk kids at its Bucharest hotel, he was selected to participate. "This program has helped me see life differently," says Marius, 22, who hopes one day to offer his children the home he never had. "I learned that if I work hard enough to get something, then there is a chance for me too." In partnership with the London-based Youth Career Initiative, Marriott trains underprivileged kids in five countries thus far—and has persuaded other hotel companies to follow suit (see "The Power of Travel").

At Marriott, service goes way beyond plumping pillows. Each manager at its 2,800 properties around the world is judged in part by his or her "Spirit to Serve" community programs. (The company clocked 210,000 volunteer hours in 2006.) Volunteers do everything from career training to feeding the hungry and planting trees. Marriott also recently adopted a green philosophy. It reduced its greenhouse gases by 70,000 tons last year and has received more Energy Star labels—at 200-plus properties—than any other hotel company.

Chain Hotels & Resorts winner:
69* Marriott

Honorable mentions:
58* Ritz-Carlton
56* Sandals

Small Hotels & Resorts winner:
84* Jungle Bay Resort and Spa, Dominica
This resort epitomizes "sustainable tourism" in the ways it benefits the neighboring community: Built using local labor and materials, it employs almost only locals and buys all fish and produce locally. The owner offers micro-loans to local entrepreneurs, funds scholarships, and supports an orphanage. Jungle Bay also encourages guests to get out and learn about the community.

Honorable mentions:
79* Tiamo Resorts, Bahamas
77* Ol Seki Mara Camp, Kenya

Destinations winner:
84* Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Tswalu is really a conservation program fueled by tourism. A lodge and private villa have replaced cattle farms whose livestock decimated the wildlife. Native species are being reintroduced, and families who had worked on the farms are being trained for better-paying tourism jobs. Tswalu has earned the Fair Trade in Tourism trademark, awarded by an NGO based on wages, working conditions, and other criteria.

Honorable mentions:
79* Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
76* Spier, South Africa

Tour Operators winner:
81* Buffalo Tours, Southeast Asia
This outfitter integrates off-the-beaten-path villages, volunteerism, and homestays into its programs (all run by local guides), and donates three percent of its profits to humanitarian causes. The company's business has helped Mai Chau Valley tribes sustain traditional weaving and farming.

Honorable mentions:
78* The Blue Yonder, India
75* AdventureSmith Explorations, worldwide

* Scores are out of a possible 100