Tourism awards launched

A NEW award to recognise the people behind the Kuala Lumpur tourism industry has been introduced. The award called the Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards 2011 was launched by Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad Ismail yesterday at the DBKL headquarters. Fuad said the award was created to recognise and appreciate the people in the KL tourism industry who had contributed in many ways to make the federal capital an attractive international tourist destination.

Sharing a light moment: (From left) Bernama TV chief executive officer Engku Emran Engku Zainal Abidin, DBKL deputy director-general Datuk Normah Malik, Ahmad Fuad, Yam and Star Publications (M) Bhd group chief editor/executive director Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai at the launch of the KL mayor’s Tourism Awards 2011. Emran and Wong are part of the panel of judges for the awards.

“KL has much to offer as a tourist destination now compared with a decade ago. “Now the city has many modern shopping centres, world-class tourist attractions, entertainment and dining outlets, multinational chain of hotels, parks, sports, educational centres and a more efficient transportation system that have created a distinctive identity and image for the city,’’ said Fuad. “Tourists now gain greater experience when visiting Kuala Lumpur and the impressions that are taken back to their countries have further elevated the profile of the city, Fuad said.

The mayor added that the success of putting KL on top of every travellers’ mind was done through the contributions, investments, commitments, passion and efforts made by the players in the tourism industry. “I believe now is the time for Kuala Lumpur City Hall to recognise and reward their contributions,’’ said Fuad. The mayor also stressed that the objective of having such a recognition programme was to boost the standard of delivery products and services in the industry and to further give encouragement to all tourism operators to strive for excellence. The awards’ organising chairman, Datuk Seri Michael Yam, said there would be nine awards including a KL Lifetime Achievement Award.

“The categories are for Accomodation, Restaurant, Night-spot, Shopping Mall, Tourist Attraction, International Tour Operator, International Airline and Media Publication - Magazine. Yam added that there would also be recognition awards; the Front Liner Award to recognise industry front liners, who have performed over and above the call of duty in providing an outstanding experience for tourists. These individuals could be from any part of the industry for example hotel reception staff, taxi drivers, waiters, doormen, tour guides, stewardesses and information counter personnel.

The Award for Accommodation will have four categories — five star, four star, three star and budget accommodation. Each category will have one recipient of the Award for Excellence and one for Outstanding Achievement Award. For the budget hotel category; two excellence awards have been allocated. There will be four awards for Excellence presented in the Restaurant category. One award for excellence in the International Airlines category, two awards for excellence in the Print Media - Magazine category, and three awards of Recognition for Front Liners.

There will be one for Outstanding Acheivements and three awards for excellence presented in each of the following categories: Tourist Attraction, Nightspot, Shopping Mall and International Tour Operator. Yam added that the awards would serve as a benchmark to perform better. “It also gives recognition to the unsung heroes, especially those working in the hot sun to encourage them to do better,’’ Yam said. Yam stressed that judging would be conducted by the an independent panel of judges. The members of the judging panel comprise experts in their particular field and are senior industry players. Nominations are open from now and forms can be downloaded from the official awards website at www.klmayortourismawards.com

The closing date for nominations is April 21. Nominations can be done in three methods which are self-nomination, third party nominations and by invitation. Awards will be determined by points awarded by the panel of judges as well as public online voting. The judges’ points will count for 95% of the total marks, while public voting will count for the remaining 5%. The public can cast their votes online from May 2 by visiting the official website. The awards are scheduled to be presented in mid-June.

-thestar online.