India Travel Awards has its first successful episode of the second edition of the West India Travel Awards in Goa, attended by the who’s who of Travel and tourism industry from India. It was a glittering gala event which was hosted by the Grand Mercure Resorts in Candolim, the five-star property situated in one of the most famous tourist destination of Goa on 14th October. The event night at grand auditorium erected in the lawns of Grand Mercure Shrem Resorts was attended by some of the well-known faces of the tourism industry. The event was graced by the Tourism Minister of Goa Shri Dilip Parulekar and Shri Nikhil Desai, Managing Director or Goa Tourism Development Corporation.
The black-tie event was attended by more than 120 guests from Tourism and Media industry. According to the Mentor of India Travel Awards, Mr. Sanjeet, The objective of this award was meant to promote the tourism sector in India and across the globe. “These awards in their second year signify the growth of the industry which has developed immensely in the last few years. We are proud to have been instrumental in helping it flourish, and will continue with our endeavors,” Said Sanjeet.
The ceremony commenced with the sweet welcome song by the gorgeous ‘Singing Emcee’ Ms. Dilruba, her magical voice truly captured the senses of the audience sitting in the festooned auditorium. The introduction from Dilruba was followed by the welcome speech of the Mentor of travel awards Mr. Sanjeet. And the main award ceremony began with the first award called “The Gallery of Legends award” and the same was honored to the legendary figure in Travel and Tourism Industry of India Mr. Kesari Raoji Patil, Founder and Chairman, Kesari Tours for achieving the excellence in the travel sector of India. This was followed by the other awards in the following manner…
DDP Game Changer Award
to Ms. Urrshila Kerkar, Executive Director, Cox & Kings Limited
Tourism Ambassador Award
to Mr. Arjun Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of Select Group and Le Passage to India
DDP Trailblazer Award
to Mr. Nitan Chhatwal, Managing Director, Shrem Resorts Pvt. Ltd.
Face of the Future Award
to Mr. Ruchir Bang, CEO, Rooms XML
Entrepreneur of the Year Award
to Ms. Aparna Basu Mallik, CEO, Club 7 Holidays 7
Besides this, there were other category awards…
- Best Airline – SpiceJet
- Best Travel Management Company – Travstarz Holiday & Destinations
- Best Luxury MICE & Wedding Hotel – Sayaji Indore
- Best Tour Operator-Outbound- World Travel Studio
- Best City Hotel – Novotel Pune
- Best Visa Facilitation Company – TT Services
- Best N T O – Department of Tourism Philippines
- Fastest Growing Hotel Brand – Franchise- Ramada
- Best Foreign Exchange Company – Centrum Direct
- Best Spa & Wellness Resort – Grand Mercure Goa Shrem Resort
- Best Luxury Camp – The Ultimate Travelling Camp
- Best Luxury Hotel – JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai Sahar
- Best Luxury Tour Operator – Meandering Vacations
- Best Destination Marketing Campaign – South Africa Tourism
- Best Beach Destination – Goa Tourism Development Corporation
- Best Smart City Tourism – Lavasa Tourism
- Best MICE Operator – Club 7 Holidays
- Best Business Hotel – Crowne Plaza Ahmedabad City Centre
- Best Travel Portal – atlastravelsonline.com
- Best Destination Management Company – America’s-7M Tours
- Best Mid-Market Hotel – Mercure Lavasa
- Best Corporate Travel Practice – Mahindra & Mahindra
- Best Boutique Hotel – Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa
- Best Global Distribution System (GDS) – Travelport Galileo
- Best Sports Tourism Company – Sports Konnect
- Best Emerging Travel Show – Global Panorama Showcase, Nagpur
- Best All Inclusive Hotel – Heritage Village Club Goa
- Best Corporate Incentive Tour Operator – Kesari Tours
- Best Design & Well maintained Hotel – Novotel Goa Shrem Resort
- Best Customised Tour Operator – Hither and Thither Tours and Travels
- Best Debut Mid-Market Hotel – Effotel Hotel by Sayaji
- Best Boutique Resort – Upper Deck Resort, Lonavala
- Best Innovative Product of the Year – JJ’s Tours
- Most Innovative Travel Management Company – Bonton Holidays
- Best Gaming Destination – Deltin Royale
- Fastest Growing Foreign Exchange Company – Weizmann Forex
- Best Economy Hotel – Ibis Navi Mumbai
About India Travel Awards
India Travel Awards supports, promotes and develops the Indian travel and tourism industry by identifying and rewarding excellence, and inspiring its practitioners to continuously raise the standards of their products, and service offerings. Based on a unique system of jury judgment and voting, these awards will be fair and unbiased, finally culminating in a formal Black-Tie ceremony that is glitzy, glamorous and graced by the who’s who of the travel industry. India Travel Awards is supported by the Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and is now hailed as one of the most esteemed awards in the tourism industry of India.
These awards are also braced by esteemed trade bodies like Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) and IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI)
India Travel Awards runs and governs a comprehensive programme across a range of awards developed to recognise the industry’s most vital sectors and product offerings. Awards are presented across four regions: South, East, West, and North. All awardees will be recognized throughout the year. They will be regularly featured by our travel media partners. For more information: http://www.buzzmedia.in
The event was well entertained and captured by the true multi-faceted personality of Dilruba who left no stone unturned to keep the audience nailed down to their chair and her style with the personal touch made everyone feel comfortable. The event also had few performances by the Russian dancers. Dinner and wine were served on the table by the highly qualified staff of Grand Mercure Resort making sure that every guest feels at home. Another feature of this glittering awards ceremony was the presence of Mrs. India Dr. Tanushree Pandey at the venue as she is an integral part of this award ceremony.
SOME IMAGES OF THE CEREMONY
Goa Prism News Desk
