Kerala, MP, Gujarat bag tourism awards

Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat dominated the national tourism awards presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function here on Friday.

While Kerala bagged as many as nine national tourism awards under various categories, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat won six and four, respectively.

‘The Oberoi’ in Delhi bagged the Best 5 Star Deluxe hotel award while Mumbai’s ‘Meluha The Fern’ received Best 5 Star hotel award in the country.

Bengaluru’s ‘The Taj West End’ hotel won an award for providing best facilities for differently abled guests, its ITC Windsor Hotel was adjudged the best eco-friendly hotel in India.

The Best Airport award went to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Kerala’s ‘Coconut Lagoon’  got the Best Classic Heritage award while ‘The Oberoi Cecil’ in Himachal Pradesh received best Grand Heritage Hotel award from President Mukherjee.

Gwalior bagged the Best Heritage City award. Hyderabad Golf Course was declared the Best Tourist Friendly Spot. Gujarat’s ‘Rann Utsav’ bagged the Best Rural Tourism Project award.

Gujarat’s ‘50 Golden Destinations’ coffee table book got the Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material award while ‘The Great Backwaters of Kerala’ got the Best Tourism Film award.

The President also conferred national awards to as many as 30 tourist operators and agents.

Congratulating the awardees at the function, Mukherjee said: “India offers one of the best tourism experiences in the world and I have no doubt that collectively we can earn India its rightful place in the tourism map of the world.”

He, however, also flagged the need to improve the sanitation standards. “Inconsistent sanitation standards would, similarly, have a negative impact. This would be unfortunate–especially at a time when our tourism industry is projecting the unique beauty of our cultural sites, the scenic splendour of our adventure destinations and the richness of our architectural heritage,” he said.