Taj group’s Gateway hotel in Vadodara

By DeshGujarat news, Ahmedabad, 1 March 2012

Gujarat received a one single award in the National Tourism Awards function held in New Dalhi yesterday in presence of the President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil and central Tourism minister Shri Subodhkant Sahai.

Out of total 78 awards given by the President, Gujarat’s Vadodara based The Gateway Hotel won the award of the best 3 star hotel in the country in year 2010-11. The award winning hotel of Vadodara is located at Akota Gardens.

The awards Gujarat could get ( but didn’t) were the Best heritage city award(that went to Hyderabad), Best heritage walk award(that went to Delhi Tourism). Similarly Kutch’s Hodka could get the Best rural tourism award(that went to Rural Tourism Project at Srikalahasti, District Chittor, Andhra Pradesh).

Sl. No.	Category	Award Winner
	BEST STATE / UNION TERRITORY : TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE AND TOURISM RELATED PROGRAMMES
1	Jammu & Kashmir and North East including Sikkim		Sikkim
	Rest of India
2	First Prize		Madhya Pradesh
3	Second Prize		Rajasthan
4	Best State : Campaign Clean India		Sikkim
5	Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination in India		Municipal Council of Mandav (Mandu), District Dhar, Madhya Pradesh
6	Best Heritage City		Hyderabad
7	Best Heritage Walk		Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation Ltd.
8 & 9	Most Innovative / Unique Tourism Project (Joint Winners)		Black Beauties of Rewari – Steam Heritage Destination – DRM, Delhi Division.   Pilgrim-cum-Cultural Centre at Solophok Sikkim – Dept. of Tourism & Civil Aviation, Govt. of Sikkim.
10	Best Rural Tourism Project		Rural Tourism Project at Srikalahasti, District Chittor, Andhra Pradesh.
11	Best Responsible Tourism Project		Empowerment of Women through Literacy India & Fair Trade by Kuoni Travel (India) Pvt. Ltd.
12	Best Wellness Centre		Somatheeram Ayurvedic Hospital and Yoga Centre, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram
13	Best Medical Tourism facility		Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune.
14	Best Airport		Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
15	Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station		New Delhi Railway Station
	Convention Centres
16	Best Hotel Based Meeting Venue		Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi
17	Best Stand Alone Convention Centre		Leonia International Centre for Exhibitions and Conventions, Hyderabad
18	Excellence in Publishing		Threads of Hope (The Magical Weaves of Andhra Pradesh) – Publisher : Ms. Noopur Kumar
19	Best Tourism Film		Madhya Pradesh Tourism
	Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material by States / Union Territories
20	Award Winner		Madhya Pradesh Tourism
21	Special Prize		Himachal Pradesh Tourism
	Most innovative use of Information Technology / Best Website / Portal
22	Award Winner		Kerala Tourism
23	Special Prize		www.hornbillfestival.com
	Best Overseas Tour Operator for India
24	Europe		Kuoni Europe
25	America		Indus Travels, Canada
26	West Asia & South Africa		Lama Desert Tourism, Dubai, UAE
27	East Asia		HIS Co. Ltd., Tokyo
28	UK Region		TUI Travel P.L.C.
29	Australia Region		Adventure World, Sydney
30	Best Foreign Charter Operator for India		Pegas Touristik, Russia
31	Best Foreign Journalist for India		Mr. Eric Hiss, USA
32	Best Foreign Photographer for India		Mr. Reiner Sahm, Germany
	TRAVEL AGENTS / INBOUND TOUR OPERATORS
	Category I – Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs. 100 crore and above
33	First Prize	M/s. Kuoni Travel (India) Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon.
34	Second Prize	M/s. Select World Tours (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
35	Third Prize	M/s. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., Mumbai.
	Category II – Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs. 50.00 crore and above but less than Rs.100.00 crore
36	First Prize	M/s Creative Travel Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
37	Second Prize	M/s Abercrombie & Kent India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
	Category III – Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.25.00 crore and above but less than Rs. 50.00 crore
38	First Prize	M/s. Trail Blazer Tours India Pvt. Ltd., NOIDA
39	Second Prize	M/s. Orient Express Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
40	Third Prize	M/s Minar Travels (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
	Category IV – Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.10.00 crore and above but less than Rs. 25.00 crore
41	First Prize	M/s. Top Travel & Tours Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
42	Second Prize	M/s. Travel Inn (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
43	Third Prize	M/s. Caper Travel Company Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
	Category V – Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs. 5.00 crore and above but less than Rs.10.00 crore
44	First Prize	M/s. Kash Venture Travels Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
45	Second Prize	M/s. Vasco Travel Pvt. Limited, NOIDA
46	Third Prize	M/s Amber Tours Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
	Category VI – Foreign Exchange Earnings of Rs.2.50 crore and above but less than Rs. 5.00 crore
47	First Prize	M/s. Shikhar Travels (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
48	Second Prize	M/s. Welcome Travels, New Delhi
49	Third Prize	M/s. Maxxfun Holidays Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
	TOURIST TRANSPORT OPERATORS
	Category I – Turnover of Rs.1.50 crore and above
50	First Prize	M/s. Mercury Car Rentals Limited, New Delhi
51	Second Prize	M/s. Bakshi Transport Service Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
52	Third Prize	M/s. KTC (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
	Category II – Turnover of Rs. 50.00 lakh and above but less than Rs.1.50 crore
53	First Prize	M/s. Heat Travels & Tours (India) Pvt. Ltd., Siliguri
54	Second Prize	M/s Ex-Soldiers Tourist Taxi Service, New Delhi
55	Third Prize	M/s. Alwar Tourist Transport Service, New Delhi
	Category III – Turnover of Rs. 25.00 lakh and above but less than Rs. 50.00 lakh
56	First Prize	M/s Touraids (I) Travel Services, Agra
57	Second Prize	M/s Shreya Travels, Nagpur
	DOMESTIC TOUR OPERATORS
	Promoting the Rest of India
58	First Prize	M/s. Choudhary Yatra Co. Pvt. Ltd., Nashik
59	Second Prize	M/s Panicker’s Travel (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
60	Third Prize	M/s Rao Travels (Regd), New Delhi
	Promoting the North East Region including Sikkim
61	M/s. Heat Travels & Tours (India) Pvt. Ltd., Siliguri
	Promoting Jammu & Kashmir
62	M/s Southern Travels Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
63	Best Adventure Tour Operator	M/s. Kash Venture Travels Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
64	Best MICE Operator	M/s Creative Travel Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
65	Most Innovative Tour Operator	M/s Ibex Expeditions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi for their entry on “Responsible Voluntourism in India”
66	Tour Operator promoting Niche Segments other than MICE and Adventure	Medi Connect India, Division of Indian Holidays Pvt. Ltd.
	BEST HOTELS
67	5 Star Deluxe	The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, Rajasthan
68	5 Star	The Gateway Hotel, Ernakulam, Kerala
69	4 Star	Vivanta by Taj, Kumarakom, Kerala
70	3 Star	The Gateway Hotel, Vadodara, Gujarat
71	2 Star	Hotel Pandian, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
	BEST HERITAGE HOTELS
72	Heritage	Neemrana Fort Palace, Alwar, Rajasthan
73	Heritage Classic	Malabar House Kochi, Kerala
74	Heritage Grand	Shivniwas Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan
75	Best Eco Friendly Hotel	ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru
76	Hotel providing best facilities for the differently abled guests	ITC Maurya, New Delhi
	Best Chef of India
77	4 star, 5 star, 5 star Deluxe, Heritage Classic & Heritage Grand category	Chef Arvind Saraswat
78	1 star, 2 star, 3 star & Heritage Basic category and Stand Alone Restaurant	Chef Sabyasachi Gorai
79	Other Chefs not covered in categories above	Chef Veena Arora