Govt. honours top travel and tourism companies

The Government on Monday recognized top travel and tourism companies via the second Travel and Tourism Awards 2008 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Colombo, with the distinguished participation of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.

Continuing on the success of the inaugural Travel and Tourism Awards held last year, the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with Sri Lanka Tourism, organized the Travel & Tourism Awards 2008.

The Travel and Tourism Awards recognized and rewarded, excellence among industry stakeholders and encourage their contribution in future, for the sustainable development of the tourism industry.

The Minister of Tourism, Milinda Moragoda identified the need to award the tourism sector for its contribution, as there was no award scheme prior to this. Today, the awards are recognized as the highest accolade for individuals and organizations whose outstanding contributions play a significant role in the success of the Sri Lankan travel and tourism industry.

The award categories constitute of 11 specific areas identified by specialists in the field. It focussed on General Awards for Tourism Legends who have contributed tremendously to the industry as a whole through many years of dedicated service. It also awarded Tourism Pioneers who have broken new ground and achieved much in the tourism industry through ground-breaking achievements.

The awards specifically seek high service standards and quality standards. The star classified tourist hotels, as well as the new trends such as boutique hotels, boutique villas, heritage hotels, heritage homes, guest houses, home stays, and restaurants received awards based on their standards in the various categories, as well as the general excellence in service.

The contribution of the airline industry was also recognized as well as travel and tourism operators, both in inbound and outbound categories, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, & Exhibitions) organizers. Marketing communications in the tourist trade was further rewarded, based on their outstanding promotional campaigns through local and foreign media. Niche operators in the ayurveda and adventure categories as well as provincial tourism projects catering to the needs of grass roots level activities received due recognition. Foreign partners loyal to the destination were also be rewarded as well as tourism education and training efforts, within the industry.

The captions for the attached photos are as follows:

Siri de Silva receiving the Presidential Awards for Travel and Tourism 2008 in the General Awards Pioneer category, in the adventure tourism sector.