PATA InSPIRE Award 2015

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce the winners of the Tourism InSPIRE Awards 2015. Proudly supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the SWITCH-Asia Regional Policy Support Component (RPSC), managed by UNEP, funded by the European Union, and implemented by PATA, the awards recognise six organisations and businesses that have demonstrated excellence in social, environmental, and economic sustainability in tourism.

PATA will present the six Tourism InSPIRE Awards at a special awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, November 27, 2015, at a dinner gala hosted by the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines during the PATA New Tourism Frontiers Forum 2015 in Legazpi, Albay, Philippines.

Mr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA said, “On behalf of PATA, I would like to send my sincere congratulations to all the winners of the Tourism InSPIRE Awards 2015 and thank all of those who applied as well as all of our supporters. We look forward to celebrating our winners in the Philippines, and sharing their accomplishments on our sustainability platform, sustain.pata.org.”

The Tourism InSPIRE Awards are presented to outstanding applications in six categories: Best Branded Accommodation, Best Independent Accommodation, Best Marine and Wildlife Tourism Provider, Best Culture and Heritage Tourism Provider, Best Responsible Tourism Destination, Best Community Based Tourism Initiative. Winners exemplify use and application of sustainable consumption approaches (resource efficiency, value chain approach, eco-innovation, sustainable consumption, sustainability reporting, community action, cultural heritage, and collective impact.

PATA Tourism InSPIRE Award 2015

Winners of PATA Tourism InSPIRE Awards 2015

Best Branded Accommodation Award
• El Nido Resorts, Philippines
For its innovative and inspirational activities

Best Independent Accommodation Award
• Sukau Rainforest Lodge of Sabah. Malaysia
For its stakeholder engagement efforts and exemplary practices

Best Marine and Wildlife Tourism Provider Award
• Cinnamon Hotels Resorts of Sri Lanka
For its clear commitment to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices, tangible impacts and measurable outcomes.

Best Culture and Heritage Tourism Provider Award
• Siddhalepa Ayurveda Health Resort also of Sri Lanka
For its clear commitment to sustainability

Honourable Mention:
• The Blue Yonder of India

Best Responsible Tourism Destination Award
• Borneo Rainforest Lodge of Sabah, Malaysia
For its performance in stakeholder engagement and resource efficiency

Best Community Based Tourism Initiative Award
• Bojo Aloguinsan Ecotourism Association (BAETAS) of the Philippines
For its serious commitment to sustainability principles and evident benefits to community members

Honourable Mentions;
• CBT Vietnam
• Ban Rai Gong King Community-Based Tourism Club

To see the full list of winners, you can visit the PATA Tourism InSPIRE Awards Website here – https://www.pata.org/tag/tourism-inspire-award/

 

DPM to launch Malaysia’s Pavilion at World Expo Milano 2015

http://www.nst.com.my/node/83622

MILAN, 9 May: Malaysia is poised to expand its relations with the European Union, be it in trade and investment or people-to-people connectivity. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged the EU business community to discover, or re-affirm, Malaysia’s attraction as the preferred investment destination in Southeast Asia.

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Speaking at the launch of the Malaysia Pavilion at the World Expo Milano 2015 here today, Muhyiddin highlighted the country’s strong economic fundamentals, underpinned by comfortable levels of external reserves, low external debt, low unemployment, and healthy inflows of foreign direct investments. However, he acknowledged there were challenges, which the country was determined to meet to ensure and sustain growth. “We expect to grow to hold steady between 4.5 and 5.5 per cent this year despite the global economic environment,” Muhyiddin, who is on a three-day working visit to this Italian city, said.

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The deputy prime minister arrived here on Thursday. Muhyiddin said the success of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) launched in 2010 coupled with the Government Transformation programme (GTP) could be seen in the country’s trade and investment numbers. “We attracted a total of USD68 billion in investments, both foreign and domestic.

The services and manufacturing sectors continued to play the leading role with 63.4 per cent and 30.5 per cent contribution respectively towards the approved investments in 2014. “In terms of trade, Malaysia’s total trade expanded by two per cent to total about USD445 billion in 2014, compared with about USD435 billion in 2013.” Muhyiddin also spoke on the country’s improvement in competitiveness based on reports by international organisations such as the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the Swiss Institute of Management Development.

The establishment on the Asean Community by Dec 31, this year, he added, would mark the fruition of the grouping’s goal of creating a regional entity of “one vision, one community, one identity”. “A key aspect of the Asean Community is the Asean Economic Community (AEC), designed to create a single market and production base in Asean. The establishment of the AEC at the end of this year sends a powerful signal that Asean is commited to market liberalisation and the facilitation of trade and investment.”

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On the Malaysia Pavilion which carries the theme Towards a Sustainable Food Ecosystem, Muhyiddin said its design reflected the nation’s rich biodiversity, and drew inspiration from a humble seed, a symbol of growth. The expo, held for the first time in 1914, showcases participating countries’ technologies in ensuring food sustainability.

Open to the public from May 1 to Oct 31, some 20 million visitors from around the world are expected to visit its 1.1 million square metres of exhibition area. A total of 145 countries are taking part in the expo this year, which would provide Malaysia a platform to display its development from an agricultural country to what it is today, as well as promote trade and investment. Visit http://www.malaysiapavilion2015.com.my/ for more details.