Some 36 individuals and organisations who have excelled with outstanding concepts, or extended exemplary service standards in the travel and tourism industry were honoured at the prestigious Tourism Awards 2006 presentation ceremony today.

Organised annually by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the awards ceremony, held at the Esplanade Concert Hall, was graced by Minister of State for Trade and Industry, S Iswaran.  Over 1,400 guests from the travel and tourism industry and industry leaders attended the event.

Now in its 21st year, the Tourism Awards has evolved from being a tourist- and travel-centric recognition programme into one that encompasses all service industries, ranging from hospitality to entertainment and nightlife, new business concepts and entrepreneurship to tourism related products and attractions.  It has also grown in size from the initial seven categories to the current 28. Over 138,000 nominations were received this year, reflecting the increasing local and overseas patronage of the Awards.

As part of its continual efforts to encourage the industry to innovate, create unique experiences and distinctive service elements to enhance Singapore's competitiveness, the STB introduced three new categories to Tourism Awards 2006. They include the Top 10 Best Family Experiences, Best Tourism Host – Nightspots and the Uniquely Singapore award. The new awards recognise tourism players who contributed significantly to some of the key priority areas in STB's Tourism 2015 plans and will help the industry achieve S$30 billion in tourism receipts and 17 million in visitor arrivals by 2015.

Singapore is already a leading destination for families travelling to this region. The new Top 10 Best Family Experiences award aims to recognise and encourage industry players to continue to innovate and create unique experiences for families travelling to Singapore. Winners of this new award will be recognised and specially highlighted in STB's extensive marketing efforts locally and overseas. The timely introduction of the Best Tourism Host – Nightspot category aims to put emphasis on service quality even as Singapore's entertainment and lifestyle landscape continues to transform with many new and vibrant entertainment options. The Uniquely Singapore Award honours individuals, organisations, events or projects that best encapsulate the essence, personality and inspiration behind the destination brand. Industry players' concerted efforts in leveraging on and bringing the Uniquely Singapore brand to life will inspire a strong positive perception among the global audience and achieve top-of-mind awareness when travellers make their plans.

Mr Simon Israel, Chairman of STB, congratulated the finalists and winners who through their efforts have helped raise service standards in Singapore. He said, "The annual Tourism Awards recognises service role models and leaders who have been outstanding in embracing and championing service excellence. The winners and finalists of the Tourism Awards 2006 have demonstrated their dedication and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that Singapore maintains its competitiveness and remains attractive as a destination."

This year, two categories, the Best Singapore Education Programme and Best Business Event Experience, have been subsumed under the Singapore Education Awards 2006 and Singapore Business Events Awards respectively. These award ceremonies are separately organised by STB to put emphasis in and recognise the outstanding players in the two growth segments of BTMICE and education services. Nevertheless, the top four tourism award categories, namely Outstanding Contribution to Tourism, Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year, New Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year, and Special Recognition Award, will continue to recognise outstanding personalities or organisations from all the tourism sectors that have made a significant impact to the tourism industry.

Award Winners
This year, special awards were presented to five individuals and one organisation for their invaluable contribution to the tourism industry:

• Mr Philip Ng, Chairman of Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), received the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for his exceptional leadership and guidance and his visionary stewardship that has shaped the resort island into one of the most exciting emerging leisure destinations in Asia with increasing appeal to the affluent tourist and business traveller. Visitors to the island rose steadily from 3.8 million in 2001 to 5.2 million in 2006. To date, Sentosa remains the most frequented paid-access leisure destination, commanding 31% of total foreign visitors to Singapore in 2005. 

• As the preferred choice for patients around the region, Parkway Hospitals Singapore Pte Ltd's world-class medical specialists have helped develop Singapore's reputation for healthcare services. In 2005, over 370,000 international patients visited Singapore for healthcare services. This strong growth can be attributed to the Parkway Group, which accounted for 60% of the international patient volume. For their commitment in entrenching the Singapore brand as a premier provider of quality medical care to the world, Parkway Hospitals Singapore Pte Ltd received the Special Recognition Award.

• Widely acknowledged as a ‘pioneer' of the outbound travel market in India, Mr Ranjit Malkani is the founder of SOTC Travel which still retains its strong brand visibility under the overarching Kuoni Travel Group, India. For being instrumental in developing the outbound travel to Singapore from India as well as his passion and dedication in contributing to Singapore's success as a tourist destination among Indians through his stewardship of the Marketing Advisory Council for India, Mr Ranjit Malkani was recognised with the Special Recognition Award.

• Under Mr Stephen Tan's leadership as Chief Executive, Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) is currently Singapore's largest exhibition organiser of B2B trade shows. Mr Tan's personal success in contributing to a vibrant local trade show scene while boosting visitor arrivals and tourism receipts is exemplary. His unwavering advocacy for Singapore as a world-class MICE venue at international platforms is a source of inspiration for his counterparts. For all these significant contributions, Mr Stephen Tan was conferred the Special Recognition Award.

• The dynamic Mr Michael Ma, founder of IndoChine Group of Restaurants and Bars renowned for its Asian-inspired interior design and cuisine, lets his passion for food, entertaining and design take flight in every IndoChine venue. In recognizing his creative direction and business acumen in elevating IndoChine Group and Singapore as a premium dining host, as well as garnering international publicity for Singapore as a global dining and entertainment city by marketing his outlets as choice locations for distinguished events, Mr Michael Ma is awarded Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year.

• Mr Alexander Hascher was presented the New Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award. As the Managing Director of VENUE (Asia) Pte Ltd, Mr Hascher infused flair into the Singapore fashion scene when he spearheaded VENUE Asia, a multi-label boutique in 2005. He has contributed significantly to strengthening Singapore's position as the fashion capital of the region and giving Singapore a head start in innovative fashion retail. 

The Tourism Awards 2006 also saw a number of fresh faces as finalists and winners, reflecting the rejuvenation in the industry as a whole. The Asian Civilisations Museum was a first-time finalist for Best Leisure Attraction Experience category, as was Metro Pte Ltd in the Best Shopping Experience - Department Store category. The Chingay Parade of Dreams 2006 was the first-time winner in the Best Leisure Event Experience category, while Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort Singapore chalked up its first win in the Best Accommodation Experience - Superior Hotel category. New entrant Aramsa Spa, which opened its doors in late 2006, bagged the award for Best Spa Experience.

Past year winners continued to be top performers in their categories, and are industry role models for their continued commitment to service excellence. They include Tangs which won its second consecutive award for Best Shopping Experience – Department Store; Night Safari which won the Best Leisure Attraction Experience for the sixth time; and hangout@mt.emily which won in the Best Accommodation Experience – Standard Hotel category for the second year running.

Public nominations for the Tourism Awards 2006 opened on 3 August 2006, and closed on 30 September 2006. For the first time, nominations could be submitted via Short Message Service (SMS), making it possible for the public to nominate literally anytime and from anywhere. The judging panel comprised representatives from the tourism industry as well as private and public sectors, and the identities of the judges have been kept confidential.

More details on the Tourism Awards 2006 and past Tourism Awards are available at www.tourismawards.com