The Union Home Minister, Shri. P. Chidambaram presented the National Tourism Awards in the presence of Smt. Ambika Soni, Minister of Tourism & Culture and Smt. Kanti Singh, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture here today.
The highlights of the awards this year is the Atithi Devo Bhava- Pride of India Awards instituted to recognize the outstanding contributions by the Tourism Industry Professionals/ Individuals/ Corporates /Organisations for exemplary service giving beyond call of duty.
For the current year this award has been given to Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai and The Oberoi & The Trident, Nariman Point. The employees of these hotels had demonstrated exemplary courage in helping the guests during the 26/11 attacks on their hotels.
The emerging sectors of tourism such as Cruise, Responsible, Accessible Tourism and Golf are becoming increasingly popular. In order to unleash their potential, Ministry of Tourism is promoting these sectors and, further, has instituted awards in these categories. Mahaparinivaran Express (Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train- IRCTC has been awarded the Most Innovative Tourism Project Award this year.
The Ministry of Tourism presents National Tourism Awards to various segments of the travel and tourism industry every year. These awards are presented to state Governments, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performances in their respective fields and also to encourage healthy competition with an aim to promote tourism.
List of National Tourism Awards 2007-08
| Name of Award | Recipient / Awardee | |
| 1. | | Arunachal Pradesh |
| 2. | Best State/UT (Tourism related programmes) | Rajasthan |
| 3. | Best State/UT (Tourism related programmes)North East of India (including | |
| 4. | Best Rural Tourism Project | Village Paranpur, Distt. Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh |
| 5. | The Most Innovative Tourism Project | 1. Mahaparinivaran Express (Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train- IRCTC 2. Special Award – Ulsavam – Cultural Initative from Kerala 3. Special Award - Hop in & hop off |
| 6. | Most Innovative Adventure Activity | 1) International Paragliding Championship – VAGA Fest by Kerala Tourism Special Award – Holiday Moods Adventures Private Limited |
| 7. | Best Responsible Tourism Project | “Better Together”- Responsible Tourism Initiatives from Department of Tourism, Kerala |
| 8. | | |
| 9. | Best Tourism friendly Golf Course | |
| 10 | Best maintained tourist friendly Monument | 1. Qutab Complex , 2. Special Award – Mandu , Madhya Pradesh |
| 11 | Best Maintained Tourist Friendly National Park/Wild life One Award Sanctuary | |
| 12. | Most | Qutab Minar , |
| 13. | Best Film | (‘Rhapsodies from God’s own Country – Kerala’) Director (Tourism) Kerala Tourism |
| 14. | Excellence in Publishing (English) | (The Monumental Shri Amit Pasricha Special Award (Architectural Treasures of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. |
| 15 | Excellence in Publishing (Hindi) (‘Srishti : Prakriti Ke Roop Rang’) | M/s Srishti Publications |
| 16 | Best Tourism Promotion Collateral Publicity Material. Joint Award | Department of Tourism Govt. of Tamil Nadu Department of Tourism Government of Karnataka |
| 17 | Most Innovative Use of Information Technology/Website/Portal | Madhya Pradesh Tourism Dev. Corporation Ltd. Special Award – Department of Tourism, govt. of Jharkhand Special Award – Trail Blazers Tours Pvt. Ltd. |
| 18 | Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station | Karmali, Old Goa, Konkan Railway Corporation |
| 19 | Best Overseas Tour Operator to | M/S SITA World |
| 20 | Best Overseas Tour Operator to | M/S TUI Travel Plc |
| 21 | Best Overseas Tour Operator to | H.I.S Co. Ltd , |
| 22 | Best Overseas Tour Operator to | M/S Kuoni , U.K |
| 23 | Best Overseas Tour Operator to | M/S Jayashree Travels & Tours, |
| 24 | | M/S India Unibound Pty Ltd., Melbourne |
| 25 | Best Overseas Charter Operator | |
| 26 | Best Foreign Journalist for | Mr. Roh Chung hun , |
| 27 | Best Foreign Photographer for | Ms. |
| 28 | Tour Operator/ Travel Agent ( Foreign Exchange Over 25 Crore | First Prize : M/S Le Passage to Second Prize: M/s Thomas cook ( Third Prize : M/S Orient Express Pvt. Ltd. |
| 29 | Tour Operator/ Travel Agent (Foreign Exchange Between 10-25 Crore) | First Prize: M/S Caper Travel Company Pvt Ltd Second Prize: M/s Yatrik.com Tours & Travel Pvt. Ltd Third Prize: M/S Midtown Travels Pvt. Ltd. |
| 30 | Tour Operator/ Travel Agent (Foreign Exchange Between 5-10 crore) | First Prize : Uni Crystal holidays Pvt. Ltd. Second Prize : M/S Erco Travel Pvt. Ltd. Third Prize: M/S Razdan Holidays |
| 31 | Tour Operator/ Travel Agent (Foreign Exchange Between 2.5 to 5 crore) | First Prize : M/s Exotique Expeditions Pvt. Ltd. Second Prize: M/s Scenic Journeys Pvt. Limited Third Prize : M/S Zutshi Travel World services Pvt. Ltd |
| 32 | Tourist Transport Operator | First Prize:M/s bakshi Transport service Pvt. Ltd. Second: M/s Ajay Travels Pvt. Ltd Third : M/s Praveen Travels Ltd. |
| 33 | Best Domestic Tour Operator | 1st prize:M/S Southern Travels Pvt. Ltd Iind :M/S Panikers Travel ( |
| 34 | Best Mice Operator | M/S Creative Travel Pvt. Ltd |
| 35 | Most Innovative Tour Operator | M/S Planet India Travel Pvt. Ltd. |
| 36 | Best Adventure Tour Operator | M/S Kash Venture Travels Pvt. Ltd |
Hotels
| Sl. No. | Name of the Hotel | Category | Official address, telephone Nos, Fax and e-mail address |
| 37 | | One Star | Tel: 09746958250/ 0484-2668421 Fax: 0484-2668001 |
| 38 | Pandian | Two Star | No. 15, Egmore,Chennai-600008 Tel: 044-28191010/2819 2020 Fax: 044-2819 3030 |
| 39 | The | Three star | Mararikulam North P.O., Allepey-688 549, Kerala Tel: 0478-2863801-09 Fax: 0478-2863810 |
| 40 | GRT Grand | Four Star | No.120, T. Nagar, Chennai-600017 Tel: 044-28150500/5500 Fax: 044-28150778 |
| 41 | Taj Blue Diamond | Five Star | 11, Pune – 411001 Tel: 020-66025555 Fax: 020-66027755 |
| 42 | | Five Star Deluxe | Near Tel: 0291 2510101 Fax: 0291 2510100 |
Heritage Basic :
| Sl. No. | Name of the Hotel | Category | Official address, telephone Nos, Fax and e-mail address |
| 43 | | Heritage | P.O. Gajner – 334 301 Distt. Rajasthan Tel: 01534 255061 – 4 Fax: 01534 255060 |
Heritage Classic
| 44 | Coconut Lagoon | Heritage Classic | P.B.No. 2, Kumarakom Kottayam, Kerala-686 563 Tel: 0481-2525834/35/36 Fax: 0481-2524495 |
Heritage Grand
| 45 | | Heritage Grand | The Udaipur-313001 Tel: 0294 2528016-9 Fax: 0294 2528006 |
THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PERSONS
| 46 | ITC Hotel – The Grand Central | 5 Star Deluxe | 287, Tel: 022 24101010 Fax: 022 24101111 |
BEST ECO-FRIENDLY HOTEL
| 47 | The | 5 Star Deluxe | No. 23, Bangalore-560 008 Tel: 080-2521 1234/30571234 Fax: 080 – 2521 2222 |
BEST CONVENTION CENTRE
| Sl. No. | Name of the Convention Centre | Category | Official address, telephone Nos, Fax and e-mail address |
| 48 | | - | Novotel & HICC Complex, (Near Cyberabad Post Office Hyderabad-500 081 Tel: 040 6613 4422 Fax: 040 6613 4322 plogan@hicc.com |
BEST CHEF OF INDIA – WORKING IN FOUR STAR, FIVE STAR, FIVE STAR DELUXE, HERITAGE GRAND AND HERITAGE CLASSIC
| Sl. No. | Name of the Chef | Category | Official address, telephone Nos, Fax and e-mail address |
| 49 | Sh. Davinder Kumar | - | Le Meridien New Delhi-110001 |
BEST CHEF OF INDIA
THREE STAR AND HERITAGE BASIC
| 50 | Naren Thimmaiah B.U. | - | The Gateway Hotel 66 Residency Road Tel: 080 6660 4545 Fax: 080 6661 4542 |
BEST CHEF OF INDIA
| 51 | Mr. Peter Fernandes | - | O’Coqueiro Restaurant Alto Porvorim, Tel: 0832 2417271/7344 |
| 52 | Best Guide | Shri Satya Rao Gutta |
53. Promotion of MICE Tourism in Government sector – Department ofTourism, Govt. of Haryana
54. Atithi Devo Bhavah (