Winners of the 2019 PATA Grand and Gold Awards are announced by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Sahapedia India, an open online multimedia knowledge resource on the arts, cultures and histories of India has won the 2019 PATA Grand Award for Heritage and Culture Award for its ‘India Heritage Walks’ while Ministry of Government of India, Kerala Tourism department and Cox & Kings India has bagged PATA Gold awards in Marketing categories.
The other three PATA Grand award winners are ASSET-H&C, IECD(Institut Europe´en de Coope´ration et de De´velopement), ASSET-H&C, Thailand in Education and Training category and Elephant Hills- Elephant Hills Co., Ltd, Thailand in Environment category while Experience Macao Food Truck USA- Macao Government Tourism Office, Macao, China in Marketing category.
Find the Incredible You by Ministry of Tourism, marketing campaign is an array of visual, online and print media creative’s to explore the heritage, spirituality and wellness holidays in various parts of India by Ministry of Tourism Government of India has won PATA Gold Award 2019 in Primary Government Destination segment in marketing category while Kerala Tourism has walk away with the PATA Gold awards in marketing category for its Ethnic Restaurant at Kumarakom, Kerala in Women Empowerment Initiative segment and Come Out and Play Campaign of Kerala Tourism Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media segment while www.keralatouirsm.org adjudged as the best website in Web Site segment in marketing category. Ethnic Restaurant at Kumarakom is the brainchild of Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission to empower the potential of local women entrepreneurs in Kerala’s famous backwater destination and www.keralatourism.org website is created and maintained by Invis Multi Media, the Information Technology partner of Kerala Tourism. Come Out and Play Campaign of Kerala Tourism was created by Stark Communication to capture the attention of off-season domestic travelers and this particular campaign was launched just before the devastating floods of Kerala in August 2018.
Mice Chess Box by Cox & Kings Limited, India has also won Consumer Travel Brochure segment In Marketing Media category. ‘India Heritage Walks’ aims to make heritage and culture tourism more holistic and inclusive. The purpose is to generate interest amongst the travelers as well the local population to discover the city, its streets, its people and the stories of its colonies, ruins, mainstays, and migrants. These efforts have also been especially directed towards those groups for whom engagement programmes in heritage tourism are commonly unavailable, such as children, persons with disabilities, and those from economically underprivileged backgrounds, for instance. Since its inception in November 2016, India Heritage Walks has spread to 60 cities across India. This heritage walks cover varied aspects of our cultural and natural heritage. Ranging from walks exploring markets, monuments and museums, to natural landscapes and regional cuisine, India Heritage Walks are curated thematically, making it an ideal resource for travellers and heritage enthusiasts as well.
These awards, generously supported and sponsored since 1995 by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), this year recognize the achievements of 27 separate organizations and individuals.
The 33 Grand and Gold Awards will be presented to such organizations as Borneo Eco Tours, Malaysia; Cox & Kings Limited, India; Elephant Hills Co., Ltd, Thailand; Hotel ICON, Hong Kong SAR; IECD, ASSET-H&C, Thailand; Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong SAR; Macao Government Tourism Office; Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Macao, China; Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; Palau Visitors Authority; Sarawak Tourism, Malaysia; SriLankan Airlines Ltd; Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Chinese Taipei; The Travel World, Bangladesh; Tourism Authority of Thailand, and YANNA Ventures, Thailand.
Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office said, “It is refreshing to see the talent displayed by the PATA Gold Awards 2019 winners, which I warmly congratulate. The outstanding initiatives of the winning organizations and individuals hold the power to generate positive change in tourism practices in the Asia Pacific. By helping PATA set up this stage to showcase some of the best projects in the region each year, we believe that we are influencing the tourism industry towards a more innovative and sustainable path, including back home in Macao, where tourism is a core industry of our city.”
“On behalf of PATA, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all the 2019 Grand and Gold Award winners, as well as all of this year’s participants for their submissions. I look forward to celebrating the accomplishment of this year’s winners who truly represent the values of the Association in working towards a more responsible travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region,” added PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “In addition, I would also like to once again thank MGTO for their valuable support and cooperation towards this mission.”
The PATA Grand Awards are presented to outstanding entries in four principal categories: Marketing; Education and Training; Environment, and Heritage and Culture.IECD (Institut Europe´en de Coope´ration et de De´veloppement), ASSET-H&C, Thailand will receive the 2019 PATA Grand Award for Education and Training for its ‘Association of Southeast Asian Social Enterprises for Training in Hospitality and Catering (ASSET-H&C)’ initiative. The 2019 PATA Grand Award for Environment award will be presented to Elephant Hills Co., Ltd, Thailand for Elephant Hills, Thailand’s First Luxury Tented Jungle Camps. Elephant Hills offers soft nature adventure tours in the beautiful Khao Sok National Park, with unique Elephant Experiences provided through responsible interactions with the endangered Asian elephants, where no riding is allowed and there are no chains involved..The 2019 PATA Grand Award for Marketing Award will also be presented to the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) for its ‘Experience Macao Food Truck USA’ campaign. This year’s awards attracted 197 entries from 78 organizations and individuals worldwide. The winners were selected by an independent judging committee. The 2019 PATA Gold Awards Dinner and Award Presentation will take place in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan on Thursday, September 19 during PATA Travel Mart 2019.
TourismIndia, India’s Travel & Tourism Magazine.
