More than 30 countries were nominated for the award

The 100-mile (161km) area between Exmouth and Swanage has been chosen as the world's leading example of best practice in responsible tourism.

It is considered the only place in the world which displays unbroken evidence of 185 million years of evolution.

The World Travel & Tourism Council named the Jurassic Coast winner of the 2005 Destination Award.

It beat other contendors including the Chugchil�n and Black Sheep Inn in Ecuador, and the Rinjani Trek Ecotourism Programme in Indonesia.

There were 90 applications from more than 30 countries at the award ceremony held in India over the weekend.

The four category award winners were selected by a panel of judges after on-site evaluation visits were carried out by sustainable tourism experts from around the world.