Best tour operators to be given awards on March 1 in Yalta
Kyiv, February 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The best operators on the domestic tourism market will be given awards during the Ukrainian Travel Awards 2011 – Open Ukraine ceremony on March 1, 2012 in Yalta (Crimea).
"This is a new format, this ceremony will be dedicated to domestic and inbound tourism only. We will give awards only to Ukrainian tour operators this year," Chief Editor of the Ukrainian Tourist Newspaper Liubov Chyhyr said during a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
This year the Ukrainian Travel Award will be awarded in 21 nominations, including the best inbound tourism company, the most creative tour operator in Ukraine, the best company specialized in children's tours, the best tourism facility in Ukraine, hotels, hotel boutiques, and small hotels.
The winners are selected via a poll among experts in the sphere of tourism and the hotel business, representatives of state agencies, public organizations, trade unions and the media.
"Such an award is a way to single out and support those who provide the best quality and the best product. In the United States, for instance, there is even an award of the president for companies that keep their services at the top level. Unfortunately, we don't have such state policy. And, of course, public awards give incentives to improve the quality of services and information provided to consumers and tourists," Chairman of the State Agency of Ukraine for Tourism and Resorts Dmytro Zaruba said.
Crimean Resorts and Tourism Minister Oleksandr Liyev said that Ukranian Travel Awards would be one of the most important events as part of the Crimea. Resorts. Tourism exhibition, during which the first Black Sea tourist forum will be held, with the participation of tourism ministers from the Black Sea region, Azerbaijan and Moldova.
"Earlier, we hade the Crimean Pearl award, but it existed only inside Crimea. We gave it up and proposed to spend its budget on the preparations for this event, so as to look better against other regions of Ukraine and be competitive," he said.
The Ukrainian Travel Awards ceremony has been held since 2006.