President Gives Away National Tourism Awards 2013-14
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Tourism Awards 2013-14 at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 18 September 2015.
Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the award winners and said that these exceptional individuals and institutions who have been felicitated today have distinguished themselves through their dedication in promoting India as a tourist destination. He said that broader social contacts between tourists and receiving communities go a long way in enhancing mutual understanding, tolerance, and awareness between peoples. India offers one of the best tourism experiences in the world, he added.
The President said that with the growth of the Indian economy and the increase in disposable income of the people, we may expect tourist inflows to remain on a positive trajectory in the years to come. We must pay focussed attention to the building of a high quality tourism infrastructure in the country. The launch of two initiatives – Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) – aiming at integrated development of circuits and pilgrim centres would go a long way in achieving this objective. He emphasized that the safety mechanisms that we create, the precautions that we put in place must reassure our guests – so that they never have to be apprehensive about their personal safety or that of their belongings.
Highlighting the contribution of tourism to the economy, the Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge), Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that the country earned Rs1,23,000 Crore rupees of foreign exchange through tourism last year . It contributes 6.8% to the GDP. Tourism, he said is an ‘Industry of Smiles’ and the Government gives top priority to Swachhta, Suraksha and hospitality as the 3 pillars of tourism promotion in the country. Highlighting the recent steps taken by the Government, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that Welcome Booklet is being distributed at the International Airports, giving important information including DOs and Don’ts to the foreign travellers. Similarly, 24X7 helpline has been set up which is currently functional in Hindi and English and will soon be functional in 12 International languages.
Similarly, started in November last year, e-Tourist Visa facility has been extended to 113 countries in such a short span of time. Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that the achievementsmade by the tourism industry could not have been possible without the contribution of the private stakeholders. The work done by the stakeholders has not only generated revenue but also given employment and contributed to women empowerment.
The Secretary , Tourism, Shri Vinod Zutshi congratulated all awardees. He said that the Tourism Awards will go a long way to catalyze & incentivize the tourism sector in India and encourage the stakeholders to give their best performance.
The National Tourism Awards are given in several categories including Comprehensive Development of Tourism, Best Rural Tourism Project, Best Heritage City, Best Hotels, Awards to Inbound Tour Operators and Travel Agents for their outstanding work, awards in the field of publicity/promotion and overseas marketing, use of information technology for tourism among others.
Representatives of Tourism Departments of States / Union Territories, travel and tour operators, hotels, travel agents, tourist transport operators, and officials of the Ministry of Tourism were present at the awards function.
National Tourism Awards 2013-14
List of Awardees
Planning & Coordination
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Best State / Union Territory – Comprehensive Development of Tourism | Rest of India (3 awards) | 1st | Gujarat
|
2nd | Madhya Pradesh | |||
3rd | Rajasthan | |||
2 | Civic Management of a Tourist Destination in India | B | 1 | Municipal Council of Maheshwar, Dist. Khargone, Madhya Pradesh |
C | 1 | Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu | ||
3 | Best maintained and Disabled Friendly Monument | 1 | 1 | Bhojpur Temple, Bhojpur, Madhya Pradesh |
4 | Tourist Friendly Railway Station | 1 | 1 | Railway Station Habibganj – Madhya Pradesh |
5 | Airports | Airports in Class X Cities (Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Greater Mumbai and Kolkata | 1 | Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi |
Airports in other cities | 1 | Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur, Chhattisgarh | ||
6 | Best Heritage Walk | 1 | 1 | India City Walks for Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Delhi |
7 | Best Heritage City | 1 | 1 | Heritage City Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh |
8 | Rural Tourism Project | 1 | 1 | Rann Utsav, Gujarat |
Hotel & Restaurant
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Best 2 Star category hotel | 1 | 1 | Resorte Marinha, Dourada, Tambudki, Arpora, Bardez, Goa – 403518. |
Best 3 Star category hotel | 1 | 1 | The Marari Beach, Mararikulam North P.O., Alapuzha – 688549, Kerala | |
Best 4 Star category hotel | 1 | 1 | Vivanta by Taj Kumarakom, 1/404, Kavanattinkara, Kumarakom, Kottayam – 686566, Kerala | |
Best 5 Star category hotel | 1 | 1 | Meluha The Fern, An Ecotel Hotel, Central Avenue, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai – 400076 | |
Best 5 Star Deluxe category hotel | 1 | 1 | The Oberoi, Dr. Zakir Husain Marg, New Delhi | |
2 | Best Heritage (Basic) category hotel | 1 | 1 | Samode Haveli, Gangapole, Jaipur, Rajasthan |
Best Heritage (Classic) category hotel | 1 | 1 | Coconut Lagoon, P.B. No 2, Kumarakom, Kottayam – 686563, Kerala | |
Best Heritage (Grand) category hotel | 1 | 1 | The Oberoi Cecil, Chaura Maidan, Shimla – 171004, Himachal Pradesh | |
3 | Best Hotel Based Meeting Venue Hotel
|
1 | 1+ 1 | (i) Jaypee Palace Hotel & Convention Centre, Fatehabad Road, Agra – 282004
(ii) The Lalit, New Delhi, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001 |
4 | Best Standalone Convention Centre | 1 | 1 | Leonia International Centre for Exhibitions & Conventions, Leonia Holistic Destination, Bommaraspet, Shameerpet, Ranga Reddy Distt, Hyderabad – 500078, Andhra Pradesh |
5 | Best Hotel for having Facilities for Differently Abled Guest | 1 | 1 | Taj West End, #25, Race Course Road, Bangaluru – 560001, 5 – Star Deluxe |
6 | Best Eco – Friendly category Hotel
|
1 | 1 | ITC Windsor Hotel, Bangaluru, 25, Windsor Square, Golf Course Road- Bangalore – 560052, Karnataka |
7 | Best Chef for 1,2,3 Star category and Heritage (Basic) and Stand Alone Restaurants category | 1 | 1 | Shri G. Sultan Mohideen, Corporate Chef, Kwality Group World Over KIC-Foods (Stand Alone Restaurant) |
4,5,5-Star Deluxe category and Heritage (Classic & Grand) category | 1 | 1 | Shri Ravitej Nath, Executive Chef, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts(5-Star Deluxe) | |
8 | Bed & Breakfast category approved by the State Government | 1 | 1 | Coconut Creek Farm and Homestay, Near Nazareath Church, Kumarakom South P.O., Kottayam – 686563, Kerala (Diamond Category |
Travel Trade
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Best Inbound Tour Operators / Travel Agents (handling inbound tours)
|
Category I
(Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.100 crore & above) |
1st | M/s Kuoni Travel India Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon |
2nd | M/s Le Passage to India Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi | |||
3rd | M/s Caper Travel, New Delhi | |||
Category II
(Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.50 crore & above but less than 100 crore) |
1st | M/s Trail Blazer Tours India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi | ||
2nd | M/s Minar Travels Pvt Ltd, New Delhi | |||
Category III
(Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.25 crore & above but less than 50 crore) |
1st | M/s Cholan Tours Pvt Ltd, Trichy | ||
2nd
|
Travel Scope, Gurgaon | |||
3rd | M/s Top Travel &Tours(P) Ltd, New Delhi | |||
Category IV
(Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.10 crore & above but less than 25 crore) |
1st
|
M/s GeTS Holidays Pvt Ltd, New Delhi | ||
2nd
|
M/s Travelite (India), New Delhi | |||
3rd | M/s Vasco Travel Pvt. Ltd., Goa | |||
Category V
(Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs. 5 crore & above but less than 10 crore) |
1st | Total Holiday Options Pvt Ltd,New Delhi | ||
2nd | M/s Magadh Travels & Tours Pvt Ltd,New Delhi | |||
3rd | M/s Perfect Travels and Tours Pvt Ltd, New Delhi | |||
Category VI
(Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs. 2.5 crore & above but less than 5 crore) |
1st | M/s Centre Tour & Travels, Srinagar | ||
2nd
|
M/s Unitop Tours and Travel Pvt Ltd | |||
3rd | M/s Dravidian Trails Holidays Pvt Ltd,Cochin | |||
2 | Tourist Transport Operator | Category I | 1st | M/s Eco Mobility & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. |
2nd | M/s Carzonrent (India)Pvt Ltd,New Delhi | |||
3rd | M/s Parveen Travels, Chennai | |||
Category II | 1st | M/s Alwar Tourist Transport Service,New Delhi | ||
2nd | M/s Panicker’s Travel (India) Pvt Ltd,New Delhi | |||
3rd | M/s Sherya Travels, Nagpur | |||
3 | Best Domestic Tour Operators | Category 1 Promoting and Selling Tourism Products of Rest of India | 1st | M/s Kesari Tours Pvt. Ltd. |
2nd | Southern Travels Pvt. Ltd. | |||
3rd | M/s D Paul’s Travel & Tours Ltd. | |||
Category II
Promoting and Selling Tourism Products of North Eastern Region including Sikkim |
1 award | M/s Clubside Tours & Travels, Darjeeling | ||
Category III
Promoting and Selling Tourism Products of Jammu & Kashmir Region |
1 award | M/s Kesari Tours Pvt. Ltd. | ||
4 | Best Adventure Tour Operator | 1 | 1 award | M/s Snow Leopard Adventure Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon |
5 | Best MICE Operator | 1 | 1 award | M/s Alpcord Network, New Delhi |
Publicity
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Excellence in Publishing in English | 1 | 1 | Experience Himachal on the Road
Author : Raaja Bhasin Publisher : Times Group Books |
2 | Excellence in Publishing in Foreign Language other than English | 1 | 1 | Eat Shop Trek [Essen Shoppen Wandern in German]
Submitted by Kerala Tourism
|
3 | Best Tourism Film | 1 | 1 | ‘The Great Backwaters of Kerala’
Submitted by Kerala Tourism |
4 | Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material (State & Union Territory) | 1 | 1 | ‘Gujarat’s 50 Golden Destinations’
[Coffee Table Book] Submitted by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd |
5 | Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material
(Private Stakeholders) |
1 | 1 | Set of Brochure containing
(a) A Million Reasons to Experience: India & the Subcontinent (b) India: Cultural Fairs & Festivals (c) Indian Wildlife Experience Submitted by: SDU Travels Pvt Ltd, Dist Centre Saket, New Delhi |
Overseas Marketing
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Best Overseas Tour Operator | Latin America | 1 award | M/s. Raidho Viagens, Brazil. |
North America | 1 award | M/s. SITA World Tours, USA | ||
West Asia & Africa | 1 award | M/s. Lulu International Travel & Tourism, Abu Dhabi. | ||
Australasia | 1 award | M/s. Exotic Holidays Ltd., | ||
UK | 1 award | Kuoni, UK | ||
Europe | 1 award | Travel Lab SAS, France. | ||
2 | Best Foreign Charter Operator for India | 1 | 1 award | M/s. Pegas Touristik, Russia. |
3 | Best Foreign Journalist for India | 1 | 1 award | Ms. Catherine Marshal, Australia. |
Niche Tourism
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Innovative / Unique Tourism Project | 1 | 1 | Sair Sapata – submitted by M/s. Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., Bhopal |
2 | Responsible Tourism Project / Initiative | 1 | 1+1 | “Human Rights Impact Assessment Conducted by Kuoni – submitted by M/s. KUONI Travel (India) Pvt., Ltd., Destination Management, Gurgaon” & “Thekkady” – submitted by the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, Trivandrum |
3 | Tourism Friendly Golf Course | 1 | 1 | Hyderabad Golf Course / Hyderabad Golf Club – submitted by M/s. Hyderabad Golf Association. |
4 | Wellness Centre | 1 | 1 | Somatheeram Research Institute & Ayurveda Hospital Pvt. Ltd – submitted by M/s. Somatheeram Research Institute & Ayurveda Hospital Pvt. Ltd., Kovalam, Trivandrum, Kerala |
5 | Medical Tourism Facility | 1 | 1 | Apollo International Referral Centre Hospital, Hyderabad – submitted by M/s. Apollo Health City, Hyderabad |
6. | Tour Operator Promoting Niche Segments other than Adventure and MICE | 1 | 1 | M/s. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., Mumbai for promoting Cruise Tourism (shore excursions) |
7. | Best Film Promotion Friendly State/Union Territory | 1 | 1 | Gujarat – submitted by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited for their efforts to promote Gujarat as a film destination. |
Information Technology
S.no. | Award | Category of Awards | Prize | Awardees |
1 | Most innovative use of Information Technology / Best Website / Portal | 1 | 1 | Deptt. of Tourism, Govt. of Kerala |
1 special award | Snow Leopard Adventures Pvt. Ltd. |