Pacific Asia Travel Association Announces 2014 Grand and Gold Award Winners

By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications
email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 PATA Grand and Gold Awards. The awards luncheon and presentation will take place at Diamond Island City Hall, on Friday, September 19, 2014 during the PATA Travel Mart, September 17-19 and PATA Executive Board and Board Meeting, September 19-21. The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) had supported and sponsored the awards for the last 19 years in recognising the achievements of 20 travel trade industries categories and individuals.

 

Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of MGTO, said, “Hats off to all PATA Gold Award 2014 winners! Your outstanding achievements are a breath of fresh air to the rest of the region, broadening our horizons and inspiring us to aim high, not merely on our respective destinations, but collectively as a region. The Macau Government Tourist Office is honoured to support this far-reaching PATA programme through our sponsorship for the last 19 years.”

 

Mr. Martin J. Craigs, PATA CEO, added, “On behalf of PATA, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all 2014 Grand and Gold Award winners. We are pleased to recognise their achievements at the PATA Gold Awards Luncheon and Presentation and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments at the PATA Travel Mart in Phnom Penh.”

 

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

 

Open to both PATA and non-PATA members, this year's Awards attracted a total of 181 entries from 66 travel and tourism organisations.

 

PATA Grand Awards 2014

 

Education and Training

Vietnam Ethnic Hill Tribe Community Tourism Partnership

Capilano University, Canada

 

Environment

Man and Nature in Perfect Harmony

Jetwing Vil Uyana, Sri Lanka

 

Heritage and Culture

Banteay Chhmar Tented Camp

Khiri Travel

 

Marketing

100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand

Tourism New Zealand

 

PATA Gold Award 2014

 

Marketing – Primary Government Destination

Hold My Hand in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Tourism Board

 

Marketing - Secondary Government Destination

Open Up to More – Melbourne

Tourism Victoria, Australia

 

Marketing - Carrier

Immigration on Board

Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia

 

Marketing – Hospitality

Rosewood A Sense of Place

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong SAR

          

Marketing – Industry

Making Holidays a Priority for Indians

Kuoni Travel (India), India

 

Environment - Ecotourism Project

Elpitiya Plantations Excursions

Aitken Spence Travels, Sri Lanka

 

Environment - Corporate Environmental Programme

Planet 21

Accor Asia-Pacific

 

Environment - Environmental Education Programme

My Land, My Water, My Home

Palau Visitors Authority

 

Corporate Social Responsibility

Kumarakom Responsible Tourism

Kerala Tourism, India

 

Heritage

Garuda Indonesia Experience

Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia

 

Culture

Wonder Full Water and Light Show at Marina Bay Sands

Laservision Mega Media Ltd, Singapore

 

Education and Training

Building futures

Accor Asia-Pacific

 

Marketing Media - Consumer Travel Brochure

Shop Guam Festival Travel and Shopping

Guam Visitor Bureau, Guam

Marketing Media - Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media

Kuoni Travel (India), Making Holidays a Priority for Indians

Marketing Media – Travel Advertising Print Media

Living Canvas

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong SAR

 

Marketing Media – Travel Poster

Korean Royal Court Cuisine and Bibimbap

Korea Tourism Organization, Korea SAR

Marketing Media – Promotional Travel Video

Malaysia Truly Asia – The Essence of Asia

Tourism Malaysia, M&C SAATCHI (M) SDN BHD

 

Marketing Media – Public Relations Campaign

Hong Kong Tourism Board

2013 Visa go Hong Kong Super Shopper

Marketing Media – Social Media

Thailand Only

Tourism Authority of Thailand

Marketing Media – Web Site

New Website Creation

Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, Hong Kong SAR

 

Marketing Media – E-Newsletter

Kerala Tourism, India

 

Travel Journalism – Destination Article

Hong Kong Now

Written by Peter Jon Lindberg and photographed by Adam Friedberg

Travel & Leisure Magazine, October 2013, USA

                      

Travel Journalism – Industry Business Article

Team On Board

Interviewed By Raini Hamdi, Karen Yue, Xinyi Liang-Pholsena, S Puvaneswary and Rosa Ocampo

TTGMice, May 2013, Singapore

                      

Travel Journalism – Travel Photograph

Footprints on the Beach

Tourism Authority of Thailand

 

Travel Journalism – Travel Guidebook

Colours of the Sky

Tourism Authority of Thailand

 

Capilano University will receive the 2014 PATA Grand Award for Education and Training for its "Vietnam Ethnic Hill Tribe Community Tourism Partnership" project. Through the project, Capilano University faculty and students travel to Sapa and Hanoi in Vietnam to work in partnership with Hanoi Open University (HOU) in delivering skills-based training in areas of homestay development, business development, product development, tourism planning, and cultural preservation. The project aims to build the tourism capacity of the village and foster tourism networks through connections between the village and private sector tourism organisations.

 

The Environmental Award will be presented to Jetwing Vil Uyana, Sri Lanka, for its "Man and Nature in Perfect Harmony” project. Jetwing Vil Uyana embodies the ultimate in eco-friendly luxury - a private nature reserve created on abandoned agricultural land, comprising a wetland eco-system with lakes, reed beds, and forest. Thirty luxurious dwellings are integrated into a wetland reserve of three acres despite the property spanning 24 acres. Paddy is grown on five acres of land using traditional harvesting methods with dwellings set within the paddy field - a first in Sri Lanka – and the entire property is now home to many species of flora and fauna, including the elusive loris, for whom a separate area of three acres has been designated as a loris conservation site.

 

The Heritage and Culture Award will be awarded to Khiri Travel for its “Banteay Chhmar Tented Camp.” Banteay Chhmar is a neglected collection of late 12th Century temple ruins in northwest Cambodia. Khiri Travel allows guests to stay in ‘luxury’ tents, enabling a natural, self-sustainable option for the community. The tents are erected approximately 50 meters from temple ruins to give guests a sense of real affinity, proximity and ‘adventure’. After the tents are dismantled, there are no traces of them having ever been there – apart from a small patch of compressed grass. The programme aims to build awareness and understanding of the significant cultural heritage in the Khmer context, enhance the local villagers’ income and pride, and provide a low impact and mutually beneficial tourist-host community relationship.

 

The Marketing Award will be presented to Tourism New Zealand for its "100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand” campaign. Tourism New Zealand aims to leverage the huge media and consumer attention that The Hobbit Trilogy has and will continue to achieve, and convert that attention into travel to New Zealand – the country where the movies were made. The campaign, developed in partnership with The Hobbit moviemakers Warner Brothers and Weta Workshop, has been the primary marketing campaign for Tourism New Zealand in its key offshore markets. The Hobbit and associated marketing campaigns has been a significant contributor to visitor arrival growth to New Zealand over the last 18 months.