Gala Ceremony Celebrates Success of Kingdom’s Growing Tourism Industry

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 09, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The second annual Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards were handed out at a gala ceremony in Riyadh last night. (Wednesday April 4).

The grand finale to this year’s Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market saw a host of ambassadors, other dignitaries, businessmen and leaders involved in the Kingdom’s tourism industry, gathered at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center for the awards ceremony honored by HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

The Prince said the event was aimed at recognizing not only the winners, but everyone who had contributed to the development of Saudi Arabia’s tourist industry.

“Tonight’s second staging of the Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards is a further step on our continuous path of enhancing and improving the services and professionalism that our industry offers to our visitors, and the attraction it has for our national workforce as the basis of a rewarding and enjoyable career,” his programme note stated.

Award categories covered accommodation, shopping and entertainment, restaurants, tourism activities, tourism programs and people involved in the tourism sector, with awards presented across 22 sub-categories. A total of nearly 100,000 votes were cast before voting closed in mid-March. Initial nominations were made online at the event’s website www.sauditourismawards.com and were then voted on by the public.

There were more than 600 nominations, with the most hotly contested category being Best 5 star hotel, which garnered 15 percent of the total votes. The number of votes received by individual nominees decided the initial shortlist in each category.

Then a panel of eight judges renowned for their experience in a variety of tourism sectors, deliberated at the SCTA headquarters in Riyadh for nearly eight hours. They reviewed the nomination packs submitted by the shortlisted nominees before making their decisions.

Among the winners, the Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh, won the Best 5 star hotel category, with the Elaf Taiba Hotel taking the award for Best 4 star hotel. The Best specialized resort joint winners were the Movenpick Beach Resort, Al Khobar, and Al Ahlam Marine Tourism, Jeddah, while the Red Sea Mall, Jeddah, won the accolade as Best shopping experience winner.

Chairman of the judges, Dr. Abdulmohsen Al-Hijji, of the Faculty of Tourism, King Saud University, Riyadh, told the invited audience that the awards were “an important initiative supported by the SCTA and aimed at helping to develop the Kingdom’s tourism industries.”

He added: “The Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards are, and will continue to be, work in progress as the industry continues to develop and evolve and these awards will reflect this. I would like to thank my fellow judges for their professional, fairness and totally impartial judging of the more than 120 shortlisted nominees.”

He added that the total number of online nominations made in the Awards this year was over 600, around 50 percent more than the previous year. Based on the number of votes received on the website this was shortlisted to just over 200 and these were asked to present nomination packs. The judges reviewed and marked on 124 nomination packs.

The awards event was organized by Alef International, publisher of the English-language Saudi Voyager magazine.

Note to Editors:
Category Winners

Accomodation
Best 5 star hotel winner: Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh
Highly commended: Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh

Best 4 star hotel winner: Elaf Taiba Hotel
Highly commended: Park Inn by Radisson, Al Khobar

Best 3 star hotel or motel winner: Radisson Blu Hotel, Yanbu
Highly commended: Golden Tulip, Al Khobar

Best furnished accommodation winner: Vivienda Hotel Villas, Riyadh

Best specialized resort winners: Movenpick Beach Resort, Al Khobar, and
Al Ahlam Marine Tourism, Jeddah
Highly commended: Al Ahlam Marine Tourism, Al Lith
Al Ahlam Marine Tourism, Yanbu
Al Ahlam Marine Tourism, Jizan

Shopping & Entertainment
Best shopping experience winner: Red Sea Mall, Jeddah
Highly commended: Granada Center, Riyadh

Best tourism festival winner: Buraydah Festival
Highly commended: 32nd Al Methnd Summer Festival

Best recreation center or amusement park winner: Vortex Amusement Park
Highly commended: Water Splash Park

Best tourism attraction winner: Antique Auto Carnival, Jeddah
Highly commended: Jizan Traditional Village

Restaurants
Best fine dining restaurant winner: Al Sanbok restaurant, Al Khobar
Highly commended: The Globe Restaurant, Riyadh

Best traditional restaurant winner: Herfah Café
Highly commended: Al Khobar Heritage Village

Best casual dining restaurant winner: Steak House
Highly commended: Elements restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh

Tourism Activities
Best museum experience winner: Al Khalifah Museum
Highly commended: Heritage House Al Hassiani

Best tour operator winner: Haya Tours
Highly commended: Al Shitaiwi Tours

Contribution to tourism winner: Saeed Ali Assiri
Highly commended: Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Business

Tourism Programs
Best tourism promotional campaign winner: Tourism Development Committee, Onaizah

Tourism People
Best tour guide winner: Khaled Khafaji
Highly commended: Tarek bin Sulaiman Khalifah

Tourism sales professional of the year winner: Mohammad Abdullah Sharaf