Nominations sought for first ever MENA Travel Awards

Recognizing excellence and innovation within the travel and hospitality industry, Consultants of Hospitality Administrators (CHA) in association with Hotel Business Review have announced the first ever MENA Travel Awards.

The event will take place Thursday 6th May at the Al Bustan Hotel in Dubai and there will be 57 winners in this specially devised awards program. 

“It is very important to recognize real talent and superior service in our industry to stimulate even higher standards and to applaud the effort made by so many,” says Sam Saker Regional Vice President of Renard Hospitality and President of CHA (Consultants of Hospitality Administrators) the organizers of the Awards. “That is why we have very carefully designed the MENA Travel Awards to follow very specific procedures to ensure they are first class and have real merit.”

Key to the judging criteria will be the (100) voting card that each entrant submits. These are completed equally by the entrant’s selected end users, guests, customers and trade professionals, who are requested to state their preference along preset criteria / categories and score them accordingly.

Successful entrants in each of the categories will be acknowledged as finalists and will be considered one of the best in their category / industry sector. Adjudicators will then reveal the top three outright winners, Platinum, Gold and Silver, for each of the 18 categories, at a special gala dinner.

All entrants will be carefully judged by their end users, and then the over all voting outcome will be audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure integrity. Entrants will also have the right to audit the final results of selected finalists and Award winners. 

“What makes these awards so important is that they cover all key travel and hospitality industry sectors” explained Mr. Saker. “This also acknowledges the tremendous breadth the whole industry offers today and its continued strive for excellence.”

Candidates for the 18 Award categories cover 5 and 4 star hotels, airlines, spas (separately located or within hotels), golf courses, car rental, duty free, conference & convention centres and tourism projects. The entrants must have been operating for 12 months prior to the entry deadline, although hotel soft openings between January-April 2003 and tourism projects operating since June 2003 will be eligible. It is also possible to enter more than one category as there are several Awards that suit multifaceted candidates, such as Best 5-star business / corporate hotel, Best conference / convention hotel, Best price value hotel, etc.

Being a winner of the first ever MENA Travel Awards will be even more prestigious as the ceremony will be conducted in front of an audience of 500 top industry figures at a sumptuous gala dinner. The four-course menu will also include top entertainment at the Al Bustan Rotana Ballroom in Dubai. A reception will be held at 8:00 p.m with dinner served from 9:30 p.m.

Entry to the first MENA Travel Awards requires a registration of US$ 150 for each entry. Entries must be submitted by 22nd March 2004. The Awards are organized by “CHA” Consultant of Hospitality Administrators and co-organized by Hotel Business Review Middle East.