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    WTM – Winners announced for the inaugural International Travel & Tourism Awards

    November 9, 2018
    Personality / Awards
    ,
    WTM – Winners announced for the inaugural International Travel & Tourism Awards

    TravelBizNews —

    London :The lucky fourteen winners of the first International Travel and Tourism Awards, presented by WTM London, have been revealed here  at a glittering awards ceremony .

    The award winners were honoured in front of an audience of more than 500 senior industry professionals at the Grade I-listed Tobacco Dock, near WTM London’s ExCeL venue.

    Judged by an independent panel of experts from around the world, the 14 awards showcase the best in class of the global travel and tourism industry.

    Nick Pilbeam, Divisional Director at WTM London’s parent company, Reed Exhibitions led the judging panel alongside UNWTO’s Director of Communications, Marcelo Risi.

    ITTA’s Co-Founders Paul Nelson and Charlotte Alderslade highlighted on the awards.

    The winners are:

    Best National Tourism Board / DMO Campaign

    Sponsored by National Geographic

    Gold: Turismo do Centro de Portugal – To Visit and To Stay is To Help!

    This campaign helped the tourism industry recover following serious fires that affected the Central Region in 2017.

    Silver: Visit Faroe Islands – Faroes Islands Translate

    Highly Commended: Visit Estonia, Zavod BBDO and BBDO Berlin – The Estonian Stress Buster

    Most Innovative Use of Technology within a Destination

    Gold: South African Tourism and Drive South Africa – Google Trekker South Africa

    This enables nature-lovers to explore South Africa’s national parks and nature reserves on Google Street View, thanks to help from more than 200 South African volunteers.

    Silver: Hong Kong uCloudlink Network Technology Ltd – Global Pocket WiFi

    Highly Commended: Kyiv City Tourist and Information Centre – Kyiv City Guide

    Highly Commended: Walks and City Connect – Walk On Walk Off – Flexible Tour Pass

    Best Tourism Marketing Agency

    Gold: made Tourism Marketing on behalf of Littlestar Services – MAMMA MIA! The Musical – Tourism Marketing Campaign Jan 2016 – Dec 2017

    The production generated approximately £15 million in a two-year period and 65% was attributed to made’s tourism marketing activity.

    Silver: Inova Hospitality Management – The Unique Inova Approach

    Highly Commended: AM+A Marketing and Media Relations – Supporting Slovenia Tourism Board’s World Bee Day: Introducing Api Tourism to the World

    Highly Commended: Brighter Group, A Finn Partners Company – ExtraJordanary – Reinvigorating Tourism to Jordan

    Best Regional / City Campaign

    Sponsored by World Tourism Cities Federation

    Gold: VisitFlanders – The Mud Soldier

    One hundred years after the First World War Battle of Passchendaele, this mud and sand sculpture in London’s Trafalgar Square was worn away by water in four days, resulting in huge exposure on traditional and social media.

    Silver: Marketing Manchester – Come Together Campaign

    Highly Commended: DEC BBDO on behalf of Canary Islands Tourism – After-Rain Ads

    Highly Commended: Tourism Toronto – The Views Are Different Here Campaign

    Best PR Campaign

    Gold: DEC BBDO on behalf of Canary Islands Tourism – #StopBlueMonday

    This campaign encouraged people to make their own positive poster to share via social media – increasing UK winter tourists by 19.8% and attracting £76.4 million of new revenue.

    Silver: Visit Orlando – Orlando’s BIG Thank You

    Highly Commended: Visit Faroe Islands and Atlantic Airways – Faroes Islands Translate

    Highly Commended: The Puerto Rico Tourism Company and Ketchum – From “Come Back” to Comeback: How Puerto Rico Tourism Defied Two Hurricanes and Major Misconceptions

    Best Digital Campaign in Tourism

    Sponsored by Ink

    Gold: DEC BBDO on behalf of Canary Islands Tourism – The 7 Islands That Became 47

    This Canary Islands Tourism campaign re-positioned the image of the destination from being seven sun-and-sea islands to 47 different islands every day.

    Silver: AirAsia Malaysia and WE ARE KIX – Adventure Live

    Highly Commended: Visit Faroe Islands and Atlantic Airways – Faroe Islands Translate

    Best Digital Influencer in the Industry

    Sponsored by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism

    Gold: Viajar Verde – Sustainable Tourism Blog

    Ana Duék’s blog and website, Viajar Verde, has become recognised as the main website and reference on responsible tourism in Brazil.

    Silver: Vagabrothers Productions Ltd – Vagabrothers

    Best in Wellness Tourism

    Gold: Slovenian Tourist Board – Healthy Waters

    This spa and wellness campaign substantially improved the profile of Slovenian resorts on a national and international scale.

    Best in Responsible Tourism

    Sponsored by Rovia

    Gold: Kerala Tourism – Kerala

    This scheme enables tourists to experience rural lifestyles, and 20 new Village Life Experience Packages will be introduced across 14 districts in the state of Kerala over the coming year.

    Silver: Cinnamon Hotels Management Ltd – The Cinnamon Elephant Project

    Silver: Yayasan Karang Lestari Pemuteran Bali (Coral Reef Restoration Foundation) – Coral Reef Revival

    Best in Adventure

    Gold: Experience Jordan – The Jordan Bike Trail

    This 700km epic trail allows cyclists to experience the best of Jordan and created fresh opportunities in the 54 villages along the route.

    Silver: G Adventures – Adventure With Purpose

    Highly Commended: The Tuk Tuk Club – Putting the ‘Adventure’ Back into Adventure Travel in Northern Thailand

    Best Food Destination

    Gold: Food NI Ltd – Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink 2016

    This initiative, delivered on a budget of £230,000, repositioned how food and drink in Northern Ireland is perceived and generated £41 million-worth of positive PR.

    Silver: Gipuzkoa Provincial Council – TXOTX!

    Best in LGBT

    Gold: Geotourist and AARP – GLBT History Tour of Denver, USA

    This project raised the profile of Denver being a GLBT city and brought people of all creeds, backgrounds and ages together.

    Silver: Israel Tourist Office – Leading LGBT Destination

    Best in Luxury

    Gold: Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority and Hills Balfour – Taylor Morris & Mauritius Luxury campaign

    This campaign targeted the affluent millennial market, and has had a direct impact on the increase in visitor figures to Mauritius.

    Silver: Caldera Yachting – Santorini Luxury Cruises – The Experience of a Lifetime

    Outstanding Contribution

    Air Canada

    Source : WTM London , Nov. 7, 2018

     

     

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      UNWTO becomes “UN Tourism” 

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      UN Tourism: Transforming tourism for a better worldTo achieve this goal, UN Tourism engaged the services of Interbrand, the leading global branding agency. Interbrand successfully translated the Organization’s renewed vision for tourism into a new visual identity and brand narrative.

      This involved renaming the Organization, transitioning from UNWTO to UN Tourism. At the same time, a new brand narrative was meticulously crafted, one that seamlessly aligns with UN Tourism’s central mission and priorities. This narrative pivots around three main messages: the UN as a global altruistic organization, the notion of connecting humans around the world, and the concept of proactivity and movement.

      Enhancing the well-being of individuals, safeguarding the natural environment, stimulating economic advancement, and fostering international harmony are key goals that are the fundamental essence of UN Tourism

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      The campaign reflects Thailand’s renowned hospitality and warmth to visitors, showcasing the country as a desirable destination for tourists. “CARE” stands for Compassion, Assistant, Relief, and Elevate, encompassing the generosity of the Thai people and their commitment to providing a safe and enjoyable travel experience for tourists.

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      China’s resort island receives

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      Hainan’s total tourism revenue surged 71.9 percent year on year to about 181.3 billion yuan (about 25.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, according to the provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports.

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      Vietnam  to welcome 17-18

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      The number of domestic travellers, meanwhile, stood at 108 million, up 6 per cent compared to the set target. Tourism activities generated about VNĐ678 trillion (US$27.85 billion) in revenue, 4.3 per cent higher than the yearly plan.

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      Việt Nam’s socio-economic conditions remain stable; the economy continues to grow and inflation has been kept in check. But the persistent threat of disease and natural disasters are likely to create uncertainty affecting production, business activities and the daily lives of citizens.

      According to forecasts from the UN World Tourism Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council, international travel activities may fully recover by the end of 2024, reaching the levels achieved in 2019. However, the recovery is expected to be uneven across different regions.

      The ever-changing demands of international tourists require higher standards in product quality, diversity and unique experiences. The trends of integrating information technology, artificial intelligence and digital transformation are envisioned to drive the emergence of new forms of tourism.

      Based on these analyses and projections, Việt Nam aims to serve 17-18 million foreign and 110 million domestic visitors this year, with an expected total revenue from tourism nearing VNĐ840 trillion.

      To achieve the stated objectives, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng has instructed the VNAT to continue focusing on advising and improving the institutional framework, policies, reviewing identified deficiencies for adjustment, and international commitments in the field of tourism. Collaboration with other ministries and sectors is emphasised to formulate policies for developing various types of products such as agricultural tourism and digital transformation in tourism. He also noted the need for attention on strengthening tourism statistics and digital transformation to enhance the effectiveness of data collection, providing reliable figures to efficiently support tourism policy planning.

      The ministry also calls for enhanced training for tourism officials and workers to meet requirements of new situations, especially in terms of language proficiency and technology expertise. — VNS

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      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)