Kerala is "the best tourist destination in the country"

Kerala received three awards for its tourism promotion programme, including as the best tourist destination in the country. Kerala's tourism department's project in Aranmula village - famous for its handcrafted metal mirroris - in Pathanamthitta district was awarded for the best rural tourism project in the country. Orissa shared the award in this category for its initiative in Raghurajpur village, which has successfully preserved its heritage while promoting tourism. Kerala was also recognised for its innovative use of information technology for tourism projects. Sikkim received the award for the best tourism project in the North East. Distributing the awards on the occasion of National Tourism Day, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has recognised tourism as an industry.

She said her ministry had been working hard to get the taxation regime rationalised, which would help the industry to grow faster. 'We are trying to resolve the various troubles the industry is facing. Once the airports in Mumbai and Delhi get modernised, we would be able to introduce visa on arrival for some countries,' Soni assured. The tourism awards have been instituted to give recognition to the travel industry for its outstanding performances, nationally, in various tourism segments, interests and also based on its revenue earnings, services and facilities. The three new awards, which were introduced this year for the best chefs were given to Manjit Singh Gill of ITC Welcomegroup in Gurgaon (Lifetime achievement award), Hemant Oberoi of Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi (Chef of the year) and Madhu W Krishnan of ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai (Lady chef of the year).

The best hotel awards went to the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra (Five Star Deluxe),Taj Residency in Bangalore (Five star classified five star), ITC Hotel Grand Maratha Sheraton and Towers in Mumbai (Five Star Deluxe with facilities for the physically challeneged), Gateway Hotel on Residency Road in Bangalore (Four Star), the Brunton Boatyard in Kochi (Three Star), the Dessert Resort-Mandawa in Rajasthan (Two Star)Hotel Fifty Five (One Star). The Leela Palace Kempinski in Bangalore is the best eco friendly five star deluxe hotel while the Marari Beach in Kerala's Allappuzha district won a special award in the same category.

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