PATA AWARDS TOURISM INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) presented 30 plaques to winners in the 2005 PATA Gold Awards programme at the 54th PATA Annual Conference today. Twenty-eight Gold Awards were handed out during the 2005 PATA Gold Awards Luncheon hosted by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO). Earlier, during the opening session of the Conference, two PATA Grand Awards were presented for best-of-show entries submitted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Banyan Tree Holdings. The 2005 PATA Grand Award for Heritage was presented to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for its Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project. The Ministry gained the trust of the community and local authorities to effectively conserve, restore and promote the UNESCO World Heritage site as a high-quality tourist destination. The Grand Award for Marketing went to Banyan Tree Holdings for Banyan Tree Spa Bintan’s multilingual marketing communications and public relations campaign, which pushed a consistent message and scored highly across all judging criteria. The campaign launched toward the end of 2003, and in the first half of 2004 revenue growth was up 50%; impressive results for a marketing budget of only US$5,000. In addition to the two Grand Awards, 28 PATA Gold Awards were presented to the winners listed in full below. Multiple Gold Awards went to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Banyan Tree Holdings, the Korea National Tourism Organization, the Palau Visitors Authority and Tourism Australia. The winning campaigns were selected from over 312 Gold Award entries by panels of international experts in each category. The awards were open to PATA and PATA chapter members, with the exception of the journalism awards, which were open to all published writers and photographers. The PATA Gold Awards were generously sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office, which has been supporting the programme for a decade. ### 2005 PATA GRAND AND GOLD AWARD WINNERS GRAND AWARDS 1. Marketing
Banyan Tree Spa Bintan
Banyan Tree Holdings 2. Heritage
Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
GOLD AWARDS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
3. Government/Destination – National
Tourism Marketing with “Korean Wave”
Korea National Tourism Organization 4. Government/Destination -- State/City Tourism Tasmania’s Short Breaks Campaign
Tourism Tasmania, Australia 5. Carrier (International-Air) Singapore Airlines Boarding Pass Privileges Programme Singapore Airlines, Singapore 6. Carrier (Domestic-Air)
From Service Turnaround to Perception Turnaround Indian Airlines, India 7. Industry -- Hotel
Banyan Tree Bintan
Banyan Tree Holdings 8. Industry -- Tour Operator/Travel Agent
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd Thomas Cook (India) Ltd 9. Industry -- Spa
Angsana Spa Double Bay Sydney
Banyan Tree Holdings ENVIRONMENT
10. Ecotourism/Travel-Related
Karang Lestari, Pemuteran
Taman Sari Eco Cottages
PATA Bali & Nusa Tenggara Chapter, Indonesia
Taman Sari Eco Cottages and PATA Bali & Nusa Tenggara Chapter, Indonesia 11. Corporate Environmental
Welcomenviron ITC Hotels, India 12. Environmental Education Programme Palau Shark Sanctuary Fund
Palau Visitors Authority, Palau HERITAGE & CULTURE
13. Culture
Ngarachamayong Cultural Center
Palau Visitors Authority, Palau EDUCATION & TRAINING
14. Educational Programme
A Taxi Service Through the Community: Lighthouse Hotel and Spa Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka 15. Education & Training Publications
The Travel Institute's Destination Specialist Mexico
The Travel Institute, USA MULTIMEDIA & JOURNALISM
16. Consumer Travel Brochure
India Quest, Premium Vacations SITA, India 17. Print Media Advertisement
Incredible- Taj
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India 18. Electronic/Broadcast Media Advertisement
A Different Light Tourism Australia, Australia 19. Travel Poster Korea, Where Old Meets New Korea National Tourism Organization 20. Destination Article -- Newspaper
Vietnam Revs Up Here
Mr Rob McKeown
Boston Globe, USA 21. Destination Article -- Magazine
The Yangtze: Now and Then
Nancy Bear
Discovery, Emphasis Media, Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Airways 22. Industry Business Article -- Trade Publications Who Wins?
Mr Steven Shellum
Hotel Asia Pacific, Hong Kong 23. Industry Business Article -- Consumer Publications Domestic Tourism the Next Big Wave
Mrs Kamal Gill
Today’s Traveller, India 24. Travel Photograph
Straight to the Top Mr Matthieu Paley
Sawasdee, Inflight Magazine of Thai Airways International
Emphasis Media, Hong Kong 25. Travel Guidebook
East Timor
Lonely Planet, Australia
Mr Tony Wheeler 26. Travel Video Award
Four Hong Kong Experiences Hong Kong Tourism Board 27. Public Relations Campaign
Brand Australia Relaunch Tourism Australia 28. CD-ROM
Discover the World's Newest Nation
Turismo de Timor-Leste 29. Web Site
JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa Personal Vacation Planner JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Thailand 30. E-Newsletter
Kerala Tourism Newsletter Kerala Tourism, India HONOURABLE MENTION Heritage & Culture – Culture
A Day with the Masters
Kerala Tourism, India