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T+L 35

Director of operations and development, Serena Hotels & Lodges, Paris
www.serenahotels.com

Innovation Luxury hotels in unorthodox destinations
Backstory "When people heard we were building a $35 million five-star hotel in Afghanistan, they said we were crazy," Nijhof says about the Kabul Serena Hotel, which opened in November. Serena Hotels, owned by the Aga Khan Development Network, is adding nine luxury properties in other tourism-challenged countries, like Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Syria. This summer, the firm's $20 million Kampala Serena Hotel will open in Uganda's capital city.

President, Cruise North Expeditions, Toronto
www.cruisenorthexpeditions.com

Innovation An Inuit-owned cruise company
Backstory Two years ago, Wells created Cruise North, the first cruise company owned and operated by an indigenous people: the Inuit of northern Quebec. Inuit crew and guides offer travelers an authentic experience in the Canadian Arctic, showing them archaeological sites and taking them to remote villages for traditional meals and soapstone-carving demos. Wells is adding another itinerary and a second ship, which will have twice as many cabins, for a total of 61. "We're finding that what's good for the Inuit is good for our passengers," he says.

Director, Passenger Satisfaction & Revenue, Boeing, Seattle
www.boeing.com

Innovation Reconceiving the space in aircraft
Backstory In his studies for the development of the 787 Dreamliner (see Ken Dowd at right), Brauer found that a welcoming environment ranked high on travelers' wish lists. He used a trick that dates to medieval cathedrals: reward the crowd moving through the low vestibule (or Jetway) with a soaring interior when they reach the nave (or high-ceilinged cabin). He also used space unconventionally: business-class seats pivot into the aisle to lie flat, and windows are positioned to give passengers a better view.

Real estate developer, Beijing
www.threeonthebund.com

Innovation Responsible development in China
Backstory Lee is at the forefront of China's nascent preservation movement. Among his successes: transforming Shanghai's 1916 Union Assurance Co. headquarters into Three on the Bund, an upscale shopping and dining emporium, and turning a pair of historic buildings in Beijing into two of the hottest dining venues in town—the Courtyard and RBL. Lee's newest venture is converting five Neoclassical buildings in the Legation Quarter, Beijing's former embassy district, into a complex with a gallery, stores, restaurants, and a park, in time for the 2008 Olympics in China's capital city.

Owner and founder, Explora, Santiago, Chile
www.explora.com

Innovation Luxury adventure travel in South America
Backstory Ibáñez launched Explora in 1989 with Explora en Patagonia, his eco-lodge in Chile's Torres del Paine National Park. His latest hotel, the airy nine-room Casas Rapa Nui on Easter Island, is the first property an outsider has opened on the island. Last year, Ibáñez took the successful concept one step further by instituting four travesías—journeys made from his existing properties that combine hiking, biking, and horseback riding with overnights in lavish tented camps.

Founder and creative director, CarbonNeutral Company, London
www.carbonneutral.com

Innovation Helping travelers offset their carbon-dioxide emissions
Backstory Welland and her business partner, Dan Morrell, founded Future Forests as an air-recycling project—conscientious travelers could buy trees (to compensate for using fossil fuels) on the Future Forests Web site. Ten years later, the business, now called the CarbonNeutral Company, provides consultants to global corporations, helping them choose green energy sources. Travelers can still plant trees in a forest through the company's site (below); they can also purchase renewable energy sources in developing countries and find carbon-neutral vacations.

Vice president, Aviation Studio at Teague, Seattle
www.teague.com

Innovation Airplane interiors for the 21st century
Backstory Dowd, who once designed airplane cabins for heads of state, is now working on the interior of Boeing's new energy-efficient 787 Dreamliner, slated to debut in 2008. Featuring 10-foot vaulted ceilings and windows that are 50 percent larger than those on the 777, the plane will also have the first ever cabin-wide LED lighting, to help travelers reset their circadian rhythms. Dowd and his team have considered every surface passengers come into contact with, including the overhead bin latches, which open at the slightest touch. When people enter the model cabin in Teague's Seattle hangar, Dowd says, "We invariably hear a quiet 'Wow.' That's what we're going for."