The new executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce has been named chairman of an international committee to select the best tourism projects in the world.

The announcement was made Tuesday by the World Travel and Tourism Council in London, which sponsors the annual Tourism of Tomorrow Awards.

Costas Christ of Brooksville, who was hired in June as Bar Harbor’s new Chamber director, has extensive experience in the tourism industry, working most recently as senior director for ecotourism at Conservation International in Washington, D.C.

“We are honored that Costas has accepted to be chair of the judging panel” for the international awards program, Jean-Claude Baumgarten, WTTC president, said Tuesday in a prepared statement.

“He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the travel and tourism sector,” Baumgarten said, “and will be invaluable as we aim to raise the profile and broaden the reach of Tourism for Tomorrow.”

The Tourism for Tomorrow awards were established in 1989 by the Federation of Tour Operators to encourage all sectors of the tourism industry to protect the environment as a way of protecting the industry.

British Airways took over the awards program in 1989 and focused on recognizing sustainable tourism projects that protect local economies as well as the natural and cultural characteristics that attract tourists in the first place.

The WTTC is comprised of presidents and chief executive officers of the world’s top 100 travel and tourism-related companies.

“I am not surprised and this is exactly why Costas was our number one leading candidate for the position of executive director,” Chamber President Michael Boland said Tuesday, “and indeed why we were so excited to bring him into our community.”

Christ’s appointment to the WTTC panel will benefit Bar Harbor in a number of ways, Boland said.

“Obviously, just the recognition that Bar Harbor will receive by having the executive director of our chamber [lead] this judging panel is priceless,” Boland said. “But further, it shows that our community is fully aware of the value of the character of the communities on [Mount Desert Island] and of course Acadia National Park.

“Finally, the name Bar Harbor will be brought to a huge international audience.”

Christ worked with the National Geographic Society to launch the World Legacy Awards in sustainable tourism in 2003. He is a founding member and former chairman of the board of the International Ecotourism Society and currently serves on the board of the Adventures in Travel Expo as well as the New York City and Chicago Luxury Travel Shows.

“I am delighted to be working with WTTC on the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards,” Christ said Tuesday from his Bar Harbor office.

“The awards are a powerful vehicle to promote best practices across the tourism industry and build broader awareness of sustainable tourism among governments, the private sector and the travelling public.”

Sustainable tourism is emerging as a concern on MDI, where up to 2.7 million travelers visit each year. Traffic, congestion, pollution and erosion of natural landscapes are among the concerns.

Christ used the Mexican resort of Cancun as an example of unsustainable tourism: swamps and lagoons were filled in, 20,000 hotel rooms were built, the population exploded from 45,000, primarily fishermen and their families, to 300,000 today, and the rainforest and beaches that drew visitors either eroded or vanished.

Christ has traveled to more than 100 countries during his career and has been asked by the United Nations, among other international organizations, to discuss sustainable tourism.

“The goal is for tourism to successfully support local economies while making a direct contribution to the protection of the world’s natural and cultural heritage,” Christ said.