• TravelBizNews > News > Personality / Awards > PATA Grand and Gold Award 2015 to 29 organizations

    PATA Grand and Gold Award 2015 to 29 organizations

    July 16, 2015
    Personality / Awards
    PATA Grand and Gold Award 2015 to 29 organizations

    BANGKOK, July 16, 2015 — The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)has announced the winners of the 2015 PATA Grand and Gold Awards. Proudly supported and sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) for the last 20 years, this year’s awards recognise the achievements of 25 separate organisations and individuals.

    PATA will present 29 Grand and Gold Awards to such organisations as Accor Asia-Pacific, Cox and Kings Ltd, Hong Kong International Theme Park Ltd, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Jetwing Hotels Ltd, Korea Tourism Organization, Taiwan Tourism Bureau and Taylor’s University.

    The awards luncheon and presentation takes place at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on September 8, 2015 during the PATA Travel Mart 2015.

    Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, said, “The list of PATA Gold Awards 2015 winners unveils once again the very best of Pacific-Asia tourism practices. The excellence and innovation revealed by the works and projects awarded are impressive and can certainly provide inspiration to raise the standards of the tourism industry stakeholders in the region. Macau Government Tourist Office congratulates all winning organisations and individuals for such outstanding achievements and we are honoured to be part of this prestigious PATA initiative for the 20th consecutive year.”

    Mario Hardy, PATA CEO, added, “On behalf of PATA, I extend our warmest congratulations to all 2015 Grand and Gold Award winners and I also thank all participants. This year we received 269 entries from 83 travel and tourism organisations and individuals – the highest number since 2007. We look forward to celebrating these accomplishments at the PATA Gold Awards Luncheon and Presentation at the PATA Travel Mart in Bangalore, India.”

    The PATA Grand Awards are presented to outstanding entries in four principal categories: Marketing; Education and Training; Environment; and Heritage & Culture.

    Taylor’s University, Malaysia will receive the 2015 PATA Grand Award for Education and Training for its ‘Tourism Academy at Community College Langkawi, Malaysia’ project. It is the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiated by the Government through the Ministry of Higher Education jointly with Taylor’s University to establish a Tourism Academy in Malaysia. The hotel industry, through this strategic partnership, has committed to support the learning and development of the students and eventually hire graduates at a more competitive remuneration package in recognition of the skills and learning that they attained directly with the hotel partners through the Tourism Academy. This initiative will support the vision of the government to make Langkawi among the top 10 tourism island destination with qualified manpower to support and complement the service sectors.

    The Environmental Award will be presented to Jetwing Hotels Ltd, Sri Lanka, for its “The Success of Self-reliance” project. After a decade from the devastating tsunami of 2004, Jetwing brings a truly one-with-nature concept to a more refined and elegant form with Jetwing Yala. Set within the immediate outskirts of the Yala National Park, Jetwing Yala boasts a tremendous commitment to sustainability and the environment, bringing a wildlife experience complemented with the finest in luxury and comfort. Designed by renowned architect Murad Ismail, Jetwing Yala has been created from the ground up to be as sustainable as possible with the intention of conserving energy and resources by reusing and recycling and by being part of the environment without inflicting harm upon nature.

    The Heritage and Culture Award will be awarded to Ratchada Niramit Co., Ltd, Thailand for its ‘Siam Niramit Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam’. Siam Niramit is a world-class performance that displays Thailand’s artistic and cultural heritage. This must-see show is performed on a gigantic stage, listed in the Guinness World Records, and features over 100 performers and more than 500 costumes. Enhanced special effects and the world’s most advanced sound, light and stage technology combine to make this a realistic, stimulating and inspiring experience. Siam Niramit aims not only to introduce Thai arts and culture to the world but also to make Thai people take pride in their culture and inspire them to love and preserve it.

    The Marketing Award will be presented to Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), Hong Kong SAR for its ‘Follow Me to Hong Kong’ campaign. Hong Kong Tourism Board invited world-renowned Russian ‘Instagram’ couple Murad Osmann and Natalia Zakharova to Hong Kong to enable them to capture romantic Hong Kong SAR images and then share them with their followers on social media. Using the ‘instagrammer’ as a personality, HKTB spins off their Hong Kong SAR travel story to print and online media in Russia, Hong Kong SAR and all over the world. In the online world, ‘meet the fans’ meetings and videos are organised to maximise Hong Kong SAR’s exposure as a travel destination via the couple’s personal experiences.

    PATA Grand Awards 2015

    Marketing
    Follow Me to Hong Kong
    Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong SAR

    Environment
    The Success of Self-reliance
    Jetwing Hotels Ltd, Sri Lanka

    Heritage – Culture
    Siam Niramit Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam
    Ratchada Niramit Co., Ltd, Thailand

    Education and Training
    Tourism Academy at Community College Langkawi, Malaysia
    Taylor’s University, Malaysia

    PATA Gold Awards 2015

    Marketing – Primary Government Destination
    My Time for Hong Kong
    Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong SAR

    Marketing – Secondary Government Destination
    Vivid Sydney
    Destination NSW, Australia

    Marketing – Carrier
    With Vietjet, Saigon is closer
    Vietjet Air, Vietnam

    Marketing – Hospitality
    RWS Moments Campaign
    Resorts World at Sentosa, Singapore

    Marketing – Industry
    Disney Paint the Night
    Hong Kong International Theme Park Limited, Hong Kong SAR

    Marketing – Adventure Travel
    Grab Your Dream
    Cox and Kings Limited, India

    Environment – Ecotourism Project
    Proactive Roles of Wendekreisen Travel Ltd.
    Wendekreisen, New Zealand

    Environment – Corporate Environment Programme
    PLANET 21: Reinventing Hotels, Sustainably
    Accor Asia-Pacific, Singapore

    Environmental Education Programme
    Be G.R.E.E.N. Beyond El Nido Resorts
    Ten Knots Development Corporation/El Nido Resorts, Philippines

    Corporate Social Responsibility
    A Journey of Sustainability
    Banyan Tree Marketing Group, Singapore

    Heritage – Culture – Heritage
    Muziris Heritage Project
    Kerala Tourism, India

    Heritage – Culture – Culture
    The Ultimate Travelling Camp, India

    Education and Training
    Thomas Cook Travel Quest
    Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India

    Marketing Media – Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media
    Taste Taiwan
    Taiwan Tourism Bureau, USA

    Marketing Media – Travel Advertisement Print Media
    Korea Tourism Photo Contest Awards Winners 2014
    Korea Tourism Organization, Korea ROK

    Marketing Media – Consumer Travel Brochure
    The Ultimate Travelling Camp, India

    Marketing Media – E-Newsletter
    The Front Desk
    Jetwing Hotels Ltd, Sri Lanka

    Marketing Media – Travel Poster
    Visit Malaysia Year – Sarawak
    Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia

    Marketing Media – Public Relations Campaign
    PNG Pop Up Village
    Tourism Papua New Guinea, USA

    Marketing Media – Social Media
    I Hate Thailand
    Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand

    Marketing Media – Mobile Travel Application
    My Hong Kong Guide
    Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong SAR

    Marketing – Promotional Travel Video
    Discover Thainess
    Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thailand

    Marketing Media – Web Site
    DiscoverHongKong.com Brand Rejuvenation
    Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong SAR

    Travel Journalism – Destination Article
    Transcendence, Travel +Leisure Southeast Asia, July 2014
    written by Holly McDonald, photographed by Lauryn Ishak
    Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, Thailand

    Travel Journalism – Business Article
    Rock Star Economy, Travel Digest, June 2014
    written by Lorraine Thomson
    Travel Digest, New Zealand

    Travel Journalism – Travel Photograph
    Mount Bromo, East Java Indonesia
    By Yaman Ibrahim, Colours Garuda Indonesia Inflight Magazine, August 2014
    Agency Fish, Indonesia

    Travel Journalism – Travel Guidebook
    Best of the Best: Philippines Coffee Table Book
    Eastgate Publishing Corp., Philippines

    Source : PATA , July 16, 2015

    Other News

    • Connecting you with the world of travel and tourism

      Theme Park Expo Vietnam 2025

      28th East Mediterranean Tourism and Travel Exhibition https://emittistanbul.com/en

      Asia Pool & Spa Expo , May 10 – 12, 2025 , Guangzhou , China

      An Opportunity to enter South-East Asian market in 2023

      KAZAKHSTAN International Exhibition “Tourism & Travel” Almaty, Kazakhstan

      CHINA- Beyond your imagination

      China – Lunar New Year 2025 

      This Lunar New Year (LNY) is shaping up to be a festive season of exploration and connection as celebrating families and friends worldwide embrace the holiday spirit.

      This year marks the year of the Snake, a symbol of wisdom, intuition, and transformation — themes that reflect the everchanging travel landscape. While some choose to celebrate at home, others have taken the opportunity to create memories in destinations far and near. With travel back in full swing, Trip.com Group has unveiled its latest LNY trends for 2025, showcasing how travellers are prioritising longer stays, meaningful experiences and unconventional destinations this year.

      Data reveals strong year-on-year growth for cross-border travel, with travellers combining public holidays and annual leave to increase their length of stay.

      Notably, in the Chinese mainland, a key source of LNY travel, New Year’s Eve is officially recognised as a holiday in 2025. This allows travellers to take just two days of leave for an eleven-day holiday. Korean travellers need to take one day for a nine-day break, while Singaporeans can create a five-day holiday with a single day off. As such, extended stays are a hallmark of this year’s LNY. On average, Asia-Pacific travellers will stay up to 10% longer this festive period.

      Popular destinations frequented by travellers who celebrate LNY include Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Chinese mainland. -PRNewswire Jan. 20, 2025 /

      FITUR tourism exhibition

      opens as sector fully recovers

      The 2025 FITUR international tourism exhibition opened  in Madrid, showcasing a robust recovery in the global tourism sector. Over 9,000 companies from 156 countries are participating in the event, which marks the 45th edition of the exhibition. Running until Jan. 26, FITUR is hosting 153,000 industry professionals, highlighting its significance as a key gathering for the global travel industry.

      The United Nations Tourism (UN Tourism) announced Tuesday that 2024 saw international tourism fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.4 billion international travelers recorded. The organization forecasts further growth of 3-5 percent for 2025.

      Spain, a leading global tourism destination, recently reported a record-breaking 94 million visitors in 2024, underscoring the sector’s resilience and strength.

      Brazil takes center stage as the invited nation at this year’s FITUR. The exhibition also features 10 specialist areas, including cruises, sports tourism, film tourism, and language-learning tourism, reflecting the growing diversity of travel trends.

      The Asia-Pacific region has reached 87 percent of its pre-pandemic tourist numbers, according to the UN Tourism. China has a strong presence at FITUR, with companies such as Enjoy China, Fantastica China, The Chinese Office of Tourism in Spain, and Focus China showcasing their offerings over the coming days. – Xinhua ,Jan. 22 ,2025

      France holds off Spain

      as world’s tourist favourite

      Olympic host France retained its spot as the world’s top tourist destination in 2024 with 100 million visitors, holding off stiff competition from countries including Spain.

      As world tourism returned to pre-pandemic levels with 1.4 billion people taking a trip abroad, according to the UN, both France and Spain announced record visitor numbers.

      Spain said last week that a record 94 million foreign tourists flocked to the Iberian nation in 2024, a 10 percent increase from the previous year.

      France, which hosted the Olympic Games in July – September 2024, welcomed two more million visitors in 2024, an increase of two percent compared with 2023.

      But although France had more visitors, they spent less than those in Spain — 71 billion euros ($74-billion) compared with 126 billion euros in Spain.

      France’s takings from international tourists rose by a total of 12 percent year-on-year, driven largely by Belgian, English, German, Swiss and US citizens, the tourism ministry said in a statement.

      Despite the return of customers from Asia, the number of Chinese visitors to France remained 60 percent lower than before the pandemic.Thirty percent fewer Japanese visited the country than in 2019.

      Good snowfall in late 2024 meanwhile drove a rebound for the end-of-year holidays as snow sports lovers flocked to the French ski slopes.

      “The outlook for the first quarter of 2025 is very good, with visitor numbers on the rise,” the ministry statement added.- enca.com ,22 January 2025

      Nepal hikes Everest climbing fee

      KATHMANDU – Nepal has sharply increased Everest climbing permit fees and introduced a slew of measures aimed at controlling garbage pollution and preventing accidents on the planet’s tallest peak.

      Under the revised rules, every two climbers must hire a guide to climb any mountain over 8,000 metres, including Everest.Under the revised mountaineering regulations, the royalty fee for foreigners climbing Everest from the normal south route in the spring season (March-May) has been raised to $15,000 from the current $11,000 per person.

      The autumn season (September-November) climbing fee has increased from $5,500 to $7,500. At the same time, the permit cost per individual for the winter (December-February) and monsoon (June-August) seasons has risen from $2,750 to $3,750.The new rates will take effect on September 1, 2025.

      The last royalty fee revision was made on January 1, 2015, when the government switched from a group-based system to a uniform fee of $11,000 per climber for the spring season from the normal route.

      For Nepali climbers, the royalty fee for the normal route during the spring climbing season has doubled from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.Climbing permits, previously valid for 75 days, will now be limited to 55 days. The reduced validity is aimed at streamlining climbing activities.

      As per the amended rules, from the upcoming spring season, Everest climbers will be required to bring their poop back to base camp for proper disposal. Climbers must carry biodegradable bags to collect waste in the upper reaches.

      Base camps typically have designated toilet tents with barrels to collect human waste during expeditions. However, in higher camps, only a few agencies provide similar facilities, while others rely on pits. Very few climbers use biodegradable bags to transport waste from the summit.

      The government has also hiked the insurance coverage for high-altitude workers.Insurance coverage for high-altitude guides has gone up to Rs2 million ($14,400) from Rs1.5 million ($10,800), and for base camp workers, it has been raised to Rs1.5 million ($10,800) from Rs800,000 ($5,760).

      According to the Himalayan Database, which records all expeditions and deaths in the Himalayas, more than 200 people died on the Nepal side of Everest between 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa first scaled the peak, and 2022.

      Nearly 8,900 people have summited the world’s highest peak from Nepal’s side since 1953.- Kathmandu Post , January 22, 2025

      Bangkok named the world’s

      second-best city by Time Out

      The ranking, based on surveys of city dwellers worldwide, highlights culture, food, affordability and overall happiness as key factors in making a city truly great.

      Climbing from 24th place last year to an impressive second place, Bangkok is celebrated for its rich cultural heritage, dynamic food scene, and vibrant lifestyle.

      The city’s affordability is a major plus, with 84% of residents agreeing that dining out, grabbing a coffee, or catching a movie is accessible to all. Additionally, 86% of locals rated Bangkok’s food as “good” or “excellent”.

      One urban expert described Bangkok as “a city of contrasts”, where the scent of sizzling street food fills the air, Michelin-starred restaurants thrive, and the majestic Chao Phraya River flows past luxury hotels.

      The city’s temples such as Wat Arun and the Grand Palace stand as timeless cultural icons, while modern parks like Benjakitti Park provide much-needed green spaces.

      Beyond affordability, the city exudes happiness and warmth. The famous Thai hospitality, vibrant night markets, and world-class nightlife districts like Thonglor and Ekkamai offer endless excitement.

      Time Out has previously recognised Bangkok’s nightlife, listing it among the coolest neighbourhoods in the world. The growing BTS and MRT public transport networks have also made exploring the city more convenient than ever.

      Bangkok’s diverse culinary scene is another highlight, from the bustling Chatuchak Market to the legendary street food in Yaowarat (Chinatown).

      Whether it’s a bowl of boat noodles or an extravagant fine-dining experience, food is an undeniable part of Bangkok’s appeal.

      The No 1 city this year is Cape Town, South Africa, known for its breathtaking landscapes and cultural vibrancy. Following Bangkok in third place is New York City, while Melbourne, London and New Orleans round out the top six. Mexico City, Porto, Shanghai and Copenhagen complete the top 10.

      Thailand’s rising global status is further reflected in Chiang Mai, which secured the 28th spot, adding to the country’s reputation as a must-visit destination.

      With its blend of tradition and modernity, Bangkok is more than just a tourist hotspot – it’s a city where people genuinely love to live. Whether you’re exploring hidden street-food gems, temple-hopping, or dancing the night away, Bangkok remains a city of endless possibilities. -The Nation ,January 20, 2025

      FACTS —

      Tourism helps in:

      👉Reducing poverty

      👉Reducing Inequalities

      👉Promoting gender equality

      👉Fostering decent work and economic growth

      World Tourism Day 2021: ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’

      In 2019, Travel & Tourism’s direct, indirect and induced impact accounted for:
      -US$8.9 trillion contribution to the world’s GDP
      -10.3% of global GDP
      -330 million jobs, 1 in 10 jobs around the world
      -US$1.7 trillion visitor exports (6.8% of total exports,
      28.3% of global services exports)
      -US$948 billion capital investment (4.3% of total
      investment)

      Best Tourism Villages 2024

      ” Nihao ! China ” Silk Road Tourism